DOCSLIB.ORG

I. the Work of the Two-Horn Beast of the Earth (Rev. 13:11-15)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
I. the Work of the Two-Horn Beast of the Earth (Rev. 13:11-15) The Revelation of Jesus Christ The TRINITY of EVIL: Satan, the Antichrist (Beast of the Sea), and the False Prophet (Beast of the Earth) Revelation 13:11-18 Introduction In last week's study, we were introduced to the "beast of the sea", who is identified as the Antichrist. The Antichrist is empowered by Satan, and eventually rules as a political and military genius over the earth during the second half of the 70th Week of Daniel. The Antichrist will rule the world as the leader of the revived Roman Empire. In today's passage, we are introduced to the "beast of the earth", who is soon identified as the "False Prophet". Whereas the Antichrist is a political and military leader, the False Prophet is a religious leader. The reader is now aware of Satan's unholy trinity. Satan is the counterfeit of God the Father, the Antichrist is the blasphemous counterfeit of the Son, and the False Prophet is the deceptive counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. Like Ahab and Jezebel joined the religious priests of Baal, so the Antichrist and the False Prophet, combine political and religious power to rule over the world. I. The Work of the Two-Horn Beast of the Earth (Rev. 13:11-15) 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. 14 And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. A. The Beast of the Earth has two horns, spoke like a dragon 13:11a 1. "out of the earth", might indicate Jewish origin. 2. Recall, the Beast of the Sea is the Antichrist, likely Gentile origins 2. Gentle as a lamb, but empowered by Satan, the dragon B. The Beast of the Earth exercises all the authority of the first beast 13:12a C. The Beast of the Earth makes earth-dwellers worship the first beast 13:12b 1. Tyranny of false worship of the beast of the sea 2. Reminder of the fatal wound experienced by the Antichrist, and subsequent resurrection as an evil imitation of the work of Christ Rev. 13:3 3. These signs be very persuasive, leading earth-dwellers to believe 4. Like the Holy Spirit does for Jesus, the False Prophet glorifies Antichrist D. The Beast of the Earth is the "False Prophet" perforMs great signs Revelation 13:13,14a; "false prophet", read Revelation 19:20; 20:10 1. Fire comes down out of the sky, imitation of God power Gen. 19:24; Lev 2. The fire out of the sky deceives those who live on the earth 3. Reminiscent of Pharaoh's sorcerers, rods into serpents, water into blood, frogs up on the land (Ex. 7:11,22)… signs are not always from God! E. The False Prophet Gives Breath to the IMage of the Beast 14b,15 1. The False prophet convinces people to worship the Antichrist 2. People are not forced to worship, but they worship freely to avoid suffering or death 3. The idol of the image of the Antichrist will create the false appearance of the idol being alive II. The Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:16,17) 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. A. The False Prophet "causes" all to be given a "Mark" 1. cause by persuasion through the evidence of the signs 2. The "mark", 'charagma', "to engrave (tattoo?), stamp" 3. The "seal", 'sphragida', of the 144,000 (Rev. 7:2) is "seal of ownership" 4. The mark is a sign that the person is a worshipper of the Antichrist 5. The mark is engraved, or stamped on right hand of forehead B. No one will be able to buy or sell without the Mark of the beast C. The Mark of the beast will be either the naMe of the nuMber of the Antichrist III. The Number of the the Name of the Beast is 666 (Rev. 13:18) 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. A. "here is wisdoM", likely a reference to those who are alive during the 70th Week of Daniel will be able to decode the naMe of the Antichrist. B. The call to calculate the "nuMber of his naMe" likely points to the practice of geMatria, where the individual letters of a name are given values which are added together to be the number of the name. C. GeMatria will be used to uncover the identity in the nuMber 666. D. Too Many historic naMes could be Manipulated to produce 666. E. Other characteristics and works of the Antichrist are More helpful. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Islamic Traditions of Cirebon
    the islamic traditions of cirebon Ibadat and adat among javanese muslims A. G. Muhaimin Department of Anthropology Division of Society and Environment Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies July 1995 Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] Web: http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Muhaimin, Abdul Ghoffir. The Islamic traditions of Cirebon : ibadat and adat among Javanese muslims. Bibliography. ISBN 1 920942 30 0 (pbk.) ISBN 1 920942 31 9 (online) 1. Islam - Indonesia - Cirebon - Rituals. 2. Muslims - Indonesia - Cirebon. 3. Rites and ceremonies - Indonesia - Cirebon. I. Title. 297.5095982 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Teresa Prowse Printed by University Printing Services, ANU This edition © 2006 ANU E Press the islamic traditions of cirebon Ibadat and adat among javanese muslims Islam in Southeast Asia Series Theses at The Australian National University are assessed by external examiners and students are expected to take into account the advice of their examiners before they submit to the University Library the final versions of their theses. For this series, this final version of the thesis has been used as the basis for publication, taking into account other changes that the author may have decided to undertake. In some cases, a few minor editorial revisions have made to the work. The acknowledgements in each of these publications provide information on the supervisors of the thesis and those who contributed to its development.
    [Show full text]
  • PROPHECY MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: on the HISTORY of IDENTIFYING the ANTICHRIST . . . Stephen J. Nichols
    JETS 44/1 (March 2001) 75–85 PROPHECY MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: ON THE HISTORY OF IDENTIFYING THE ANTICHRIST STEPHEN J. NICHOLS* In the history of American literature, perhaps no two stranger bedfellows exist than Herman Melville’s naïve but adventurous Ishmael and the skillful harpooner but strangely tattooed, and, one might add, cannibalistic, Quee- queg. Upon barely observing Queequeg’s decorated body, the skull he is un- able to sell, and the harpoon which never left his side, in the dark of the room, Ishmael, fearing for his life, mutters, “Yes it’s just as I thought, he’s a terrible bedfellow.” That is, no stranger bedfellows, until one considers a particular point of prophetic interpretation, namely, identifying the anti- christ. What do the eschatologies of J. Dwight Pentecost and John Calvin have in common? Hal Lindsey and Jonathan Edwards? Increase Mather and Arno C. Gaebelein? On the one hand, the answer is not much. Such diˆerent eschatologies, nonetheless, yield a rather surprising connection. All of these, as well as a host of others, identify the Pope as the antichrist. Not only is this commonality strange given the diˆerent theological per- spectives and hermeneutics of these ˜gures, it also confounds understand- ing given the distance—chronological, geographical, and sociological— between them. I suppose one can conclude that in light of the similar exe- getical conclusion in spite of such theological, hermeneutical, and other diˆerences, this is a clear case of the text triumphing over tradition, inter- pretation trumping theology. In other words, if these interpreters under- stand the antichrist to be the Pope, then, goes the logic, they are right.
    [Show full text]
  • Antichrist As (Anti)Charisma: Reflections on Weber and the ‘Son of Perdition’
    Religions 2013, 4, 77–95; doi:10.3390/rel4010077 OPEN ACCESS religions ISSN 2077-1444 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Article Antichrist as (Anti)Charisma: Reflections on Weber and the ‘Son of Perdition’ Brett Edward Whalen Department of History, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB# 3193, Chapel Hill, NC, 27707, USA; E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-919-962-2383 Received: 20 December 2012; in revised form: 25 January 2013 / Accepted: 29 January 2013 / Published: 4 February 2013 Abstract: The figure of Antichrist, linked in recent US apocalyptic thought to President Barack Obama, forms a central component of Christian end-times scenarios, both medieval and modern. Envisioned as a false-messiah, deceptive miracle-worker, and prophet of evil, Antichrist inversely embodies many of the qualities and characteristics associated with Max Weber’s concept of charisma. This essay explores early Christian, medieval, and contemporary depictions of Antichrist and the imagined political circumstances of his reign as manifesting the notion of (anti)charisma, compelling but misleading charismatic political and religious leadership oriented toward damnation rather than redemption. Keywords: apocalypticism; charisma; Weber; antichrist; Bible; US presidency 1. Introduction: Obama, Antichrist, and Weber On 4 November 2012, just two days before the most recent US presidential election, Texas “Megachurch” pastor Robert Jeffress (1956– ) proclaimed that a vote for the incumbent candidate Barack Obama (1961– ) represented a vote for the coming of Antichrist. “President Obama is not the Antichrist,” Jeffress qualified to his listeners, “But what I am saying is this: the course he is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of Antichrist” [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Capitalization Glossary1 Abrahamic Covenant Age AD
    Capitalization Glossary1 Abrahamic Covenant Age AD (Latin abbreviation for “in the year of our Lord”) goes before the date (AD 2014) Apostolic Age Bronze Age church age Iron Age Stone Age Almighty God amillennial, amillenarian Ancient Near East the Antichrist anti-Christian antichrists (many) the Apocrypha (but: apocryphal) apostle(s) (but: the Twelve Apostles, the Twelve) apostolic archaeology ark (any reference) Ascension (specific biblical event) Atonement (of Christ) BC (English abbreviation for “before Christ”) goes after the date (586 BC) Beatitudes believer-priests Bible biblical black theology body of Christ Book of books (Bible) book of Job a book of the Bible book of life (mentioned in Rev. 20:15) Bread of Life bride of Christ Calvary Captivity (the Babylonian; others, lowercase) Catholics Catholicism (but: catholic, meaning universal) 1 For additional resource, see “Appendix A: Capitalization and Spelling Examples,” in The SBL Handbook of Style: For Eastern, Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies (Peabody, MA: Henrickson Publishers, 1999), 154-65. 1 chapter (general term) Chapter 6 (specific chapter) charismatic chief priest(s) children of Israel Christ Child Christian education (but: Department of Christian Education) Christlike Christological Christology Christ’s kingdom church (both universal and local) the early church fathers (but: the Fathers) the commandments (capitalize only when referring to the whole Decalogue: Ten Commandments, but: first commandment) commencement communion (the ordinance) communists,
    [Show full text]
  • The Teaching of Christ and the Antichrist in the Thought of Matthias Flacius Illyricus
    S. Jambrek: The teaching of Christ and the Antichrist in the thought of Matthias Flacius Illyricus The teaching of Christ and the Antichrist in the thought of Matthias Flacius Illyricus Stanko Jambrek Biblijski institut, Zagreb [email protected] UDK:232;234.3 Original scientific paper Received: August, 2014 Accepted: September, 2015 Abstract The teaching of Christ and of the Antichrist have a central place in Flacius’s theological thinking about the church. In his struggle for the truth of the Gos- pel and the Word of God, Flacius points to the Antichrist and his teaching, which is opposed to the pure Word of God. In this article we will first define terms and provide an overview of biblical teaching about the Antichrist. Af- ter that we will outline the theological thoughts about the Antichrist in the time of the Reformation. Flacius’s theological thoughts about the Antichrist, as well as Christ’s versus Antichrist’s teachings, are taken from his works, A Brief Overview of the Faith of Jesus Christ and of the Antichrist (Breves Svm- mae Religionis Iesu Christi, & Antichristi, per Matth. Flacium Illyricum), A Paper Against Papal Primacy (Scriptum contra primatum papae, ante annos 100. compositum. Item, Matthiae Flacij Illyrici de eadem materia), and The Catalog of the Witnesses of Truth (Catalogus testium veritatis), as well as from gaining insight into his other works. In his deliberations, Flacius joins the majority of the 16th century Reformers, as well as the numerous gospel preachers in previous centuries, emphasizing that the Word of God is the only and supreme authority in the church.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE a Study of Antichrist
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE A Study of Antichrist Typology in Six Biblical Dramas of 17th Century Spain A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish by Jason Allen Wells December 2014 Dissertation Committee: Dr. James Parr, Chairperson Dr. David Herzberger Dr. Benjamin Liu Copyright Jason Allen Wells 2014 The Dissertation of Jason Allen Wells is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION A Study of Antichrist Typology in Six Biblical Dramas of 17th Century Spain by Jason Allen Wells Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Spanish University of California, Riverside, December 2014 Dr. James Parr, Chairperson This dissertation examines Antichrist types manifested in the primary antagonists of six biblical dramas of seventeenth century Spanish theater. After researching the topic of biblical typology in the works of theologians Sir Robert Anderson, G.H. Pember, Arthur W. Pink, and Peter S. Ruckman, who propose various personages of both the Old and New Testaments that adumbrate the Antichrist, I devise a reduced list based on extant plays of the Spanish Golden Age whose main characters match the scriptural counterparts of my register. These characters are Cain, Absalom, Haman, Herod the Great, Judas Iscariot, and the Antichrist himself. I consult the Bible to provide the reader with pertinent background information about these foreshadowings of the Son of Perdition and then I compare and contrast these characteristics with those provided by the playwrights in their respective works. By making these comparisons and contrasts the reader is able to observe the poets’ embellishments of the source material, artistic contributions that in many instances probably satisfy the reader’s desire for details not found in the biblical iv narratives.
    [Show full text]
  • The Signs Before the Day of Judgement by Imâm Ibn Kathîr Rahimahullâh Translated by Huda Khattab
    The Signs Before the Day of Judgement By Imâm ibn Kathîr rahimahullâh Translated by Huda Khattab Contents • Âyat and Ahadîth about the Hour • General Description of the Fitan (Tribulations) o Divisions Within the Main Religious Groups o The Evils Which Will Befall the Muslim Ummah During The Last Days • Greater Signs of the Hour o The Mahdi o Trials and Tribulations o Signs and portents . The Battle with the Romans . Appearance of Dajjal . Ahadîth about the Dajjal . The Hadîth of Fâtimah bint Qays . Warning against the Dajjal . The Hadîth of An-Nuwas ibn Sam'an al- Kilabi . A Hadîth Narrated from Abû Umamah al- Bahili . A Test for the People at the End of Time . The Hadîth of al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah . More Ahadîth about the Dajjal . Protection Against the Dajjal . The Life and Deeds of the Dajjal . The Descent of Jesus at the End of Time . Description of the Messiah Jesus Son of Mary, Messenger of Allâh . The Appearance of Gog and Magog . The Destruction of the Ka'bah . Madînah will remain inhabited at the time of the Dajjal . The Emergence of the Beat . The rising of the Sun from the West . The Smoke which will appear at the End of Time . The Hour will not come until ... Description of the People who will be alive at the end of time Âyat and Ahadîth about the Hour (Back to Contents) Allâh - subhânahu wa Ta’âla - said: “They ask thee about the Hour, ‘When will be its appointed time?’ Wherein art thou (concerned) with the declaration thereof? With thy Lord is the Limit fixed thereof.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spirit of Antichrist: Decoupling Jesus from the Christ 39
    THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST: DECOUPLING JESUS FROM THE CHR- IST* BY ZANE C. HODGES President Kerugma Ministries Mesquite, Texas *Editor’s Note: This article is a slightly condensed form of a mes- sage given at the 2001 annual GES conference in Dallas. In light of events that have occurred in the intervening 6+ years, the challenges and warnings given in this article have proved prescient. I. INTRODUCTION Recently, as I was discussing the Lordship Salvation controversy with a fellow grace person, I was asked an interesting question. The question was: “Are we winning?” The essence of my answer was: “Absolutely.” Of course, I was not talking in terms of popularity polls. Head count- ing is irrelevant here. Unfortunately many grace people are not aware of the tremendous impact that the grace movement has had and continues to have. What I have heard and seen over the last few years is enormously encouraging. Fundamentally, God has been at work with His truth. The number of people who have been liberated from false gospels is very large as far as I can tell. The reason we are winning, however, is because we are being led by an all-conquering Captain—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All the true victories of grace truth are His victories, and not really ours at all. He is accomplishing His own purposes. But having said this, we must also admit that the grace movement faces some significant dangers. Let’s think about these for a few minutes. 37 38 Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Autumn 2007 II.
    [Show full text]
  • Mythology and Cosmology of Cirebonese Traditions
    Chapter 3: Mythology and Cosmology of Cirebonese Traditions INTRODUCTION My son, Harlan, once decided to go to Jakarta via Puncak (Bogor). Because it was on an important business trip I told him to go on Wednesday Pahing. For certain reasons he firmly insisted on going the day before and I could do nothing but let him go and told him to be extra careful. Upon his leaving I tried not to think about him but I could not stop. Three days later I got a telegram from his office in Tangerang suggesting that I should see my son. Without knowing what had happened I set off immediately to Tangerang and found him lying in hospital after a not-so-serious injury in a bus crash ¼1 One feature of Cirebon is its richness in myths and legends. Seldom is the name of a single place, locality or object such as a site, river, mountain and lake free from mythical or legendary tales. Each name bears its own folk-story of origin. It is a common knowledge that the name ªCirebonº, meaning the water of tiny shrimps, is derived primarily from Ci or Cai meaning `water' and rebon meaning `tiny shrimps' and is associated with the development of the fishing industry pioneered by its first Kuwu, Ki Cakrabumi. Similar to this are the names of Kuningan, Indramayu and Majalengka, the other three regencies in the residency of Cirebon. They are also associated with mythical derivation and origin. The name Kuningan, for example, refers to the legend of Pangeran Kuningan and Aria Kemuning.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rapture and the Book of Revelation
    TMSJ 13/2 (Fall 2002) 215-239 THE RAPTURE AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION Keith H. Essex Assistant Professor of Bible Exposition The relevance of the book of Revelation to the issue of the timing of the rapture is unquestioned. Assumptions common to many who participate in discussing the issue include the authorship of the book by John the apostle, the date of its writing in the last decade of the first century A.D., and the book’s prophetic nature in continuation of OT prophecies related to national Israel. Ten proposed references to the rapture in Revelation include Rev 3:10-11; 4:1-2; 4:4 and 5:9-10; 6:2; 7:9-17; 11:3-12; 11:15-19; 12:5; 14:14-16; and 20:4. An evaluation of these ten leads to Rev 3:10-11 as the only passage in Revelation to speak of the rapture. Rightly understood, that passage implicitly supports a pretribulational rapture of the church. That understanding of the passage fits well into the context of the message to the church at Philadelphia. * * * * * “As the major book of prophecy in the NT, Revelation has great pertinence to discussion of the rapture.”1 Participants in the discussion concerning the timing of the rapture would concur with this statement. Proponents of a pretribulational, midtribulational, pre-wrath, and posttribulational rapture all seek support for their positions in the book of Revelation.2 Many suggestions as to where Revelation 1Robert H. Gundry, The Church and the Tribulation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973) 64. 2Many books dealing with the rapture include sections specifically discussing the book of Revelation.
    [Show full text]
  • Jesus Through Shiite Narrations
    Published on Books on Islam and Muslims | Al-Islam.org (https://www.al-islam.org) Home > Jesus through Shiite Narrations Jesus through Shiite Narrations Author(s): Mahdi Muntazir Qa'im [3] Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications - Qum [4] Categorized collection of hadith (narrations) on Prophet Jesus (a) from the Shia books of Hadith. Topics include: His childhood, characteristics, the disciples, children of Israel, the Gospel, supplications to God among others. Translator(s): Dr. Muhammad Legenhausen [5] Category: Comparative Religion [6] Prophethood & Imamate [7] General [8] Hadith Collections [9] Topic Tags: Bible [10] Gospel [11] Shia [12] Traditions [13] Hadith [14] Supplications [15] Featured Category: Islam and Christianity [16] Person Tags: Jesus Christ [17] Preface What is offered here is a fairly comprehensive selection of the narrations pertaining to Jesus (‘a) said to have been reported by the Shi‘i Imams, peace be with them. It is generally admitted that not everything reported in this literature is correct, and the science of hadith has been developed by Muslim scholars precisely for the purpose of sorting through the narrations and evaluating their strength. No attempt has been made in what follows to select only ahadith considered reliable. The narrations selected provide an overview of what various reporters of ahadith have claimed that the Imams have said about Jesus (‘a). At the same time, we cannot claim that our selection exhausts all such narrations. Sometimes we have found several reports that differ only in some insignificant details, in which case we have generally selected the most complete form of the report. Also omitted are reports in which Jesus is mentioned only incidentally, although where such incidental mention seemed interesting to us, we have provided the excerpt from the hadith.
    [Show full text]
  • Intro to Revelation: Glossary of Terms
    Study Notes Intro to Revelation: Glossary of Terms The terms below will be used throughout our study of the Book of Revelation. Please note that the purpose of this document is to simply define these terms. It should not be considered an endorsement or denial of the viewpoints discussed. Eschatology Literally means the study of last things. Broadly speaking it is the theological study that seeks to understand the ultimate direction and purpose of history as it moves toward the future. The three main questions of concern in eschatology are 1. What is the kingdom of God? 2. What happens to men and women when they die? 3. How will history end? Most theologians speak of the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom. The inauguration of the kingdom was the first coming of Christ recorded in the Gospels. The consummation will be the second coming of Christ. Second Coming of Christ This is a vital doctrine upheld by every Christian to ever live. The Church has always held that to deny the second coming of Christ is to deny the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed states: He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end. Resurrection The bodily resurrection of all believers who have died in Christ will occur at the Second Coming. 1 Corinthians 15 lays out a logical defense of this doctrine. Like the Second Coming, this is an essential doctrine upheld by all Christians at all times.
    [Show full text]