02.41. LECTURE No. 41 -- Rev_13:3-10
LECTURE No. 41 -- Revelation 13:3-10 The Book of Revelation a Recognized Part of the Inspired Word of God - It Should Be Studied by All True Christians - The Book of Revelation Tells Us More Than Any Other Book in the Bible About the Second Coming of Christ - The Thirteenth Chapter of Revelation Is a Prophetic Word Picture of the Coming Antichrist - The Nondescript Beast Described in This Chapter Was Symbolic of the Political Power of This Coming Man of Sin Antichrist Will Be a Real Person - Satan Always an Imitator - He Will Use the Antichrist to Imitate the True Christ - Antichrist Will Be Wounded and Will Die and Be Resurrected - the Power of Satan - Antichrist Will Be a Blasphemer - He Will Have World Wide Dominion for a Short Time Only - Even the Wicked People of the World Will Worship Antichrist - Some People Who Are Warned Will Be Unprepared to Hear the Truth - It Will Do No Good to Oppose the Antichrist
IT is comforting to know that truth is truth and that truth does not change, neither can it be destroyed. We are confident that these things which are written in the Book of Revelation, both for our instruction and for our comfort, are true. They are just as true as any other portion of God’s Word, for we are told by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
The fact that this Book belongs to the regular Canon of the Bible, and that it has been a recognized portion of the New Testament for nearly two thousand years certainly justifies a careful study and a prayerful investigation of its contents.
I wonder what excuse many preachers will give when they stand before the judgment seat of God for their having failed to study this book, as much as the Gospels of the New Testament. I am wondering what excuse they will give for having withheld the wonderful truths of this Book from the people.
The Book is declared to be “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This expression, as used elsewhere in the New Testament relates to the great subject of the second coming of Christ. This is confirmed 1 Peter 1:13, where it says,
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
We may rightfully say, therefore, that the revelation of Jesus Christ has to do with the second coming of Christ. Therefore, what we are studying in the Book of Revelation is nothing more nor less than a detailed account of those things and events which will occur incidental with, and at the time of the second coming of our Lord.
Certainly, my friends, this is important truth and truth which should be of interest to every believing regenerate child of God. For the promise given in Acts 1:11 was,
“This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
We should be glad and thankful, therefore, since the promise has been given that Christ will return that we have this great Book of Revelation as a source of information concerning this timely and important subject of the second coming of Christ.
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation the 13th chapter and the 3rd verse, where our lesson will begin.
We repeat again that Revelation 13:1-18 is of great importance because it reveals to us the nature and person and work of the coming Antichrist.
To refresh our minds, concerning what has been said, we shall read the first three verses of this chapter (Revelation 13:1-3) again, where John said,
“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, 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 as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” A Symbol of Political Sovereignty
We have already stated that the nondescript beast which John saw was symbolic of the political sovereignty of this world, as it will be headed up in the person of the Antichrist, who will rule as the last great emperor of the revived Roman Empire, and who will have associated with him ten kings as symbolized by the ten toes of the image with Nebuchadnezzar saw, and by the ten horns of the beast which John saw.
In the first verse just read, we are told that the beast which John saw had seven heads and in the third verse, John said, “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed.”
In our last message we gave you the political application of what is stated here and pointed out that the head of the nondescript beast which John saw, which was wounded as it were unto death was none other than the Roman empire in its original form, and that today, after long centuries, the same Roman empire is being revived and that one of these days it will have an emperor again, thus fulfilling in a political sense the truth of this passage. A Personal Antichrist But there is a second application of the truth which is stated in the third verse, and that is to the Antichrist himself. For after all, it is the person and works of the Antichrist which are brought to our attention more especially in this chapter.
The nondescript beast, therefore, represents not only the kingdom of the Antichrist but the Antichrist himself. In which case we have every reason to believe that during the career of the Antichrist he will be wounded unto death and be brought back to life again by the power of Satan, thus imitating the death and resurrection of the true Christ!
Satan Always Imitates
It has always been the work of Satan to imitate the works of Christ; where Christ has sown the good seed, Satan has sown the tares.
We all know that Satan has imitated many of the miracles recorded in the Bible, and we may expect that he will not cease his work of imitating the works of God until he has produced a false messiah by bringing him again from the dead.
This he will do in an effort to deceive the people and to cause them to believe in the false messiah rather than in Christ.
Now, what foundation do we have for our convictions that the Antichrist will be wounded unto death and then be healed by resurrection power? If you will turn to Revelation 17:1-18 you will find some interesting statements in this regard.
In Revelation 17:8-11 it says:
“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, or kingdoms, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”
Counted Twice
Here again, my friends, we have added information concerning the nondescript beast which John saw. The first fact revealed is that the Antichrist, who is symbolized by the beast, when he comes, shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. The fact that he is of the seven kings and yet is the eighth, can only be counted for by the fact of his death resurrection, in which case he could counted twice and yet be the same individual.
Another Reason
Another reason which makes us believe that the Antichrist will be killed and resurrected is stated in Revelation 13:12; Revelation 13:14; where we are told that the false prophet will cause them which dwell upon the earth to worship the beast whose deadly wound was healed! We know that the False Prophet will make an image to the beast which the wound by a sword and did live.
Resurrection
These two verses confirm the fact that the Antichrist will be killed and that his deadly wound will be healed. They also suggest the manner in which his death will be accomplished; namely, by the stroke of a sword. But in spite of this his deadly wound is to be healed and he will live again and to the mind of the false prophet this will be a sufficient reason why the world should worship the Antichrist.
So this, my friends, is what we have every reason to expect! Sometime during the career of the Antichrist he will be smitten by a sword and will be killed. He will then descend to the bottomless pit while his body lies in state on the earth, and then by Satanic power his spirit will ascend out of the bottomless pit and re-enter his body, causing him to come back to life again.
When this great miracle is accomplished the people will recognize that this is the same man who was killed by the sword, and being a great leader and a man of world renown they will wonder after the beast and hail him as their leader and worship him as their lord, even as if he were God himself. And all who refuse to worship the image of the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live, which the false prophet will set up, will be killed.
Thus, my friends, we see that in Revelation 13:3 when John said, “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed,” these words apply in a personal way to the death and resurrection of the Antichrist by the power of Satan.
The purpose of this Satanic miracle will be in order to imitate the death and resurrection of Christ and thereby secure for the Antichrist the worship and homage and allegiance of the people of the whole earth, who will follow him because of this great miracle.
We know they will do this because in Revelation 13:4 it says, “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?”
Supernatural: Yes, by Satanic Power
We must recognize, therefore, that the Antichrist when he comes will be a man of supernatural power, but the source of his power will be Satanic, for we are told that the dragon, namely Satan, will give unto him his power and seat and great authority. Because of his miraculous resurrection from the dead he will be universally known.
Although the source of his power will be satanic he will not be low and base so far as his appearance is concerned. On the contrary, he will be Satan’s masterpiece. No doubt he will be neat in appearance, and one with a master intellect, who will stand head and shoulders in intelligence above the other statesmen of the world. No doubt he will be a man of eloquence and of unusual personality, with a personal magnetism that will all draw men to him, just as such men as Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin are doing today.
Indeed, my friends, the coming Antichrist will be a composite character who will possess all of the characteristics which go to make for true greatness so far as the world’s ideas of greatness are concerned. Thus, by the very attributes of his being and by the strength of his mind and by the strength of his personality, he will draw men unto himself and they will follow him to their own destruction.
Antichrist to Be a Blasphemer In Revelation 13:5 it says,
“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.”
From this statement we learn that the Antichrist will be a boastful egoist. Boasting has always been a characteristic of the devil. This is confirmed in Isaiah 14:12-15 where it says:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
Men Blaspheme God Today
Thus, my friends, we see that from the very beginning Satan was given to boasting and throughout all ages and even today men who yield their hearts and lives to Satanic influence are guilty of doing the same thing.
The spirit of Satan is one of self-exaltation, with a desire that men should worship him. He wanted even the Christ of God to worship him and followed Jesus to the wilderness of temptation with the very purpose in mind of securing the worship of Christ if he possibly could by tempting Him to do so.
Thus we see that the egotism of the Antichrist, who will be utterly filled and controlled by the spirit and power of Satan, will know no bounds and will cause him to speak great things and blasphemies against both God and man. Will Continue Only a Short Time But there is some comfort in knowing that his boasting and his blasphemy will not continue forever but only for a comparatively short time, for in Revelation 13:5 of our lesson text it says, “and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months,” or 1260 days, or three and one-half years, which all informed students of Bible prophecy know is the exact duration of the tribulation period. Therefore, as wicked and as boastful, and as full of blasphemy as he will be, his time will be comparatively short and there are bounds beyond which he cannot pass!
Far-Reaching Blasphemies
It is interesting to note, however, how far reaching his blasphemies will be. In Revelation 13:6, it says “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”
Someone has said that blasphemy is the last weapon with which men may fight against God. In other words, when they have exhausted everything in the catalog of sin and know they are condemned, they will stand, as it were, on the last round of the ladder of moral descent and blaspheme God by pouring out of their lips vile maledictions against Him in an effort to defend their guilt against the justice and the judgments of God.
This, my friends, is what the Antichrist will do, and out of the hatred of his heart he will blaspheme the very name of God, which is repulsive to his mind. He would much prefer not to think of God at all, but being unable to do this, he will curse the name of God, with language born of Satanic inspiration. The Tabernacle Not only, will he blaspheme the name of God but he will also blaspheme the tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. We all know that there is a true tabernacle in heaven, which served as a pattern for the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness, which Moses was commanded to build.
It is difficult to understand why the Antichrist will blaspheme the tabernacle of God, but it would stand to reason that if he hates God he will hate the very place where God dwells in His highest heaven.
Those in Heaven
It says that he will also blaspheme those who dwell in heaven.
This may include the angels, but there is little doubt but what the reference here is to the church saints who are members of the body of Christ, who by this time will have been resurrected and raptured away to heaven to be with Christ.
And even though we will have escape to that place of refuge the Antichrist, inspired by Satan, will hate us even as he hates Christ.
In verse Revelation 13:7 it says, “And it was unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Not Present Day Church Saints
Now, let us not think for one moment that the saints referred to here are the church saints who are living upon earth now, for this is not true, for we already shown that before these things come to pass the church will have been completed and raptured away to be with Christ.
The saints referred to here, therefore, could be none other than the tribulation saints. In other words, they will be those who will believe the truth is it will be made known even during the tribulation period.
We know that many people will be saved during the tribulation period, both from among the Jews and the Gentiles. This is confirmed in Revelation the 7th chapter, where we are told that 144,000 Jews from among the twelve tribes of Israel will be chosen and saved and sealed and preserved for the work of God, during that period. A Great Multitude In Revelation 7:9-10 it says:
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
Thus, my friends, we see that the saints whom Antichrist will overcome will not be the church saints of the Present age, but the tribulation saints who will believe during that awful time, of spiritual darkness and persecution.
From what is stated here it is plain to see that most of those who believe, if not all of them, will die as martyrs for their faith during the tribulation period when Antichrist shall have become the Political and religious dictator of the world.
World-Wide Dominion In the seventh verse it also says, “And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
This is a statement which I have often heard questioned by many professing Christians.
Somehow, it just seems impossible for them to realize that so much power will be given into the hands of one individual. It is difficult for them to realize that the world will ever come under the dominion of this one supernatural person. Yet, that is what is plainly stated here in God’s Word.
It says that power was given unto him over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Certainly, my friends, all means ALL, and since this is true, no nation, not even our own, will escape the dominion and the blighting tyranny and the oppression of the coming Antichrist. Certainly, there is a note of warning in these words which produces a feeling of fear in our hearts. They are powerful words fraught with dire consequences for all who fail to believe and to be warned by them.
World-Wide Worship of the Antichrist In Revelation 13:8 of our lesson text it says,
“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.”
Here again, my friends, we have words that are hard to understand. Do these words mean what they say? Do they mean that this man, highly endowed and filled with the spirit of Satan will deify himself and that men will worship him as if he were a God? That, my friends, is exactly what they mean. The Godless Wicked People Will Become Worshippers
You can believe it or not, the people of this godless, wicked, unrepentant world will some of these days all of them become worshippers, not worshippers of God, but worshippers of the Antichrist.
That the Antichrist will deify himself and exalt himself above all that is called God is confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5, where it says,
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”
Human God’s
We do not need to be surprised at this because ever since the serpent said to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil,” men have been deifying themselves and making themselves objects of worship! History confirms this to be a fact and even today in Japan the Japanese people worship their Emperor as if he were a God, and they affectionately call him “Ten-No-Ha-Ka,” which being interpreted means “The Son of Heaven.”
Modern Dictators
We also know the tendency of modern dictators to more or less deify themselves and require the adoration and worship of the people! And this, my friends, is exactly what the Antichrist will do. When that time comes, worship will not be a matter of choice but a matter of compulsion and all whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world will worship him. Indeed, when that time comes the covetous man, and the drunkards, and the thieves, and the harlots, and the gamblers, and those who love the pleasures of this world, whose hearts are filled with hate and malice and every other foul spirit will all be called upon to worship the Antichrist and to bow before the image of the beast or be killed Is it any wonder, therefore, that in Revelation 13:9-10 of our lesson text it says, “If any man have an ear let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Hear the patience and the faith of the saints.”
Warned: Yet Unprepared to Hear
These words bear a note of warning and we are admonished to hear and heed the things that are spoken in this chapter concerning the Antichrist. But, frankly, not all men have ears to hear these things. In some instances they are unprepared to hear them and in some instances they do not want to hear them, and in other instances men absolutely refuse to hear and to heed the words of this Book. But those who have faith and a desire to hear these words are admonished to hear them because they are true and we know that all of these things recorded in this chapter will I surely come to pass. No Use to Oppose the Antichrist In Revelation 13:10 it says, “He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” This is a warning to those who would take up arms against the Antichrist when he comes, in an effort to take him captive. The Antichrist will be taken captive in the end by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when He appears on the stage of action every kindred and tongue and nation will be given into His hands, and God warns that those who take up the sword against the Antichrist will be killed with the sword. That is exactly what will happen. And it says, “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints;” in other words, the saints who will be upon the earth at that time must abide their time and be submissive to the will of God in all things until the Lord Christ returns from heaven and destroys the Antichrist with the brightness His coming.
~ end of lecture 41 ~