Exposing the Soon Coming Man of Sin
Revelation 13
Sep 8, 2019 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction (2Thessalonians 2:1-5)
A. The whole world will soon be spellbound by one man – the antichrist
1. Deceived into believing that this new guy is the world’s true “saviour” – true Messiah, and that Jesus was a liar and a deceiver and a fraud
2. But that is just the beginning!
3. This anti-christ will CLAIM to bring in world peace, and bring unity, and prosperity, but instead will make this world into a living hell – and all the while constantly blame God, until almost the entire world will be gathered in a frenzy to try and defeat God Almighty at a valley called Megiddo! The Bible calls it the Battle of Armageddon!
4. Unbelievable that the world will become that way
5. Yet, isn’t our world already this way?
a. Western society has already moved on from the old Jesus of the Bible
b. The world is desperately trying to tear down every shred of evidence that Jesus and His kingdom had an affect on it
c. Replaced Him with movie stars, sports stars, rock stars, and the rich and powerful
d. Those are who people worship now – besides themselves
e. But not for long
f. People are ready to welcome someone who will finally bring peace and prosperity
B. Jesus seriously warned “I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” (John 5:43).
1. This one of the most amazing warnings by Jesus. If you do not accept Jesus the Messiah as the Saviour of your life, there will come a time when the only one you will receive and follow and obey will be another Christ. An ANTI-christ!
2. This other ‘Christ’ will claim to BE the Messiah, but will be in opposition to Jesus in every way.
3. He will come into this world, if he is not already here, to bring about the complete destruction of all nations, of all cultures, of all liberties, of all homes and families
4. This man is called, the Anti-christ
a. The Wicked one (2Thes 2:8) “And then shall that Wicked be revealed”
b. That man of sin (2Th 2:3) “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.”
c. The son of perdition (2Thes 2:3)
d. The beast – as we will see in revelation 13
5. He is quite unlike Jesus the Messiah
a. Jesus came as a lamb - the antichrist comes as a BEAST
b. Jesus was lowly in heart – the antichrist will be the biggest more arrogant narcissist ever! Seeking world wide worship and attention
c. Jesus was rather boring, but the antichrist will be far more interesting, more popular, more up-to-date to people
C. As we sit here today, ALL is prepared for ‘the man of sin’ to burst on the world scene.
1. I have proved it to you already with a dozen clear signs of the time right now being unlike anything ever before – all predicted by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24
a. The Rise of a United Europe (Daniel 2) as a resurrected Roman Empire
b. The Spread of a one world Global Government (Revelation 13) from Rome
c. The Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:16-18) I will talk more about this today
d. The Collapse of the Value of Money – and its replacement with that MARK
e. Technology exploding exponentially
f. World-wide Travel is almost unlimited (Daniel 12:4).
g. Knowledge increasing exponentially (Daniel 12:4)
h. ISRAEL back in her land, speaking HEBREW (Isaiah 66:8)
i. And the Jews are even back in Jerusalem since the 6 day war, and have control of the Temple Mount.
j. The Present Day Rejection of the Second Coming – Jesus predicted a GREAT falling away asking if there would be any faith or faithful left on the earth when he returns (Luke 18:8) … Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
k. And much much more!
2. All of these are part of the increasing sorrows of birth-pains that Jesus prophesied would signal His soon return. Not just normal things happening like they always have been, but an explosion of rapid, ever increasing events and signs!
D. Yet, why is it that almost no one cares that the antichrist is coming? Why is the world so unaware? And why are CHRISTIANS uninterested?
1. Because the focus of our lives has moved to focusing only on ourselves
2. We are lulled into a sense of seeking self-satisfaction
a. Not seeking to marry and raise a family
b. Not reading to learn and explore
c. Not carefully developing a sense of what is right and good
d. But rather seeking only what is pleasant and pleasureful, and what is entertaining, and what makes me feel good
3. This age has been warned about throughout history
a. An age where the world rejects God and seeks only itself
b. God’s prophets never called people to prosperity and happiness, but to holiness
4. And so we are watching entire nations abandoning every sense of morality, and every religion, not because of the discovery of the truth, but because they are convinced there is nothing true! The only reality for most people is pleasure! Hence all the drug overdoses!
II. Questions that Need to be Answered to Expose this Wicked Man!
A. Why is it so important to pay attention to him? To learn about the antichrist?
B. What are his designs? Plans?
C. Just how powerful will this “man” be?
D. And what will he do with that power?
E. Why doesn’t he win?
F. What will the world be like when he comes?
G. Why does the whole world follow him when he is so evil?
H. Where is he now?
I. What is he doing right now?
J. How do we react to his work and plans?
III. Background - What IS The Tribulation?
A. What the word means:
1. Tribulation is one of those older words that means Trouble. But it means MORE than just a bad hair day
2. A Thrashing, Affliction, Misery, Distress, Pain, Torment, series of absolute disasters
B. It is SEVEN years of the worst disasters ever imaginable on a world wide scale
1. Seven years of ever increasing Hell on Earth
2. Until the day of Christ’s Second Coming! Called Armageddon!
3. Unlike any other time before or after (Matt 24:21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
4. worse than the destruction of Noah’s flood, and worse than the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah! Worse than Auschwitz and the Holocaust!
C. You do NOT want to be around when it comes!
IV. Previously
A. A time of increasing disasters and judgments
B. There are Actually Two Halves of the Time of the Tribulation
1. The seven years are divided into two halves of 42 months each (3 ½ years)
2. The first half is the build-up to the crowning of the antichrist in a rebuilt Jewish temple, in Jerusalem
a. Called just simply, The Tribulation
b. A constant build up of world troubles that get everyone to look to a false ‘saviour’ to save them from
c. That’s when an antichrist / prince shall come
d. The rise of the antichrist as described in Daniel chapter 9
1) He will bring a sort of peace to the world
2) He will negotiate a peace in the Middle East, allowing the Jews to rebuild their Temple
3) People will willingly worship him, and surrender all their rights to his control in exchange for PEACE!
4) It is even happening now – I never thought I would see a generation so quickly lose and give up every right that our forefathers fought so hard to give us!
e. Establishes a covenant of World Peace
1) Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant OF PEACE with many…
2) A False Peace
3) READ THE BOOK OF DANIEL!
f. An enables the
rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem –
not for God, but for HIMSELF to rule from!
3. Then Right until the Middle of the week comes the Abomination of Desolation
a. Listen to Daniel 9… “and in the midst [MIDDLE] of the week [7 YEARS] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it [THE TEMPLE] desolate,
b. even until the consummation [OF GOD’S WRATH], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate [PLACE].
c. Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
d. Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
e. The “abomination of desolation” is when the antichrist will claim to be ‘God’
f. I’ll show you that in a few minutes!
g. That’s when the GREAT Tribulation begins – and it will NOT be good!
4. The second half is the beginning of the GREAT Tribulation
a. The most unimaginable disasters will be poured out on the entire world
b. THIS is what will the world be like when the antichrist comes!
c. The earth will go out of control
1) Famines – world-wide
famines and food controls; Pestilences, diseases –
Doctors are saying that HIV is just getting under control
But that is not the end of killer diseases to come!
2) Earthquakes (Rev 6:12)
3) Hurricanes and Tsunamis will rage across the oceans (Luke 21:25,26)
d. The heavens will go out of control (Mt 24:29)
1) Sun will go dark before it will explode and become 7 times brighter than before
2) The moon will be turned to blood
3) Stars will literally fall from the sky - meteors
4) An asteroid will slam into the Mediterranean Sea
5) A massive comet will explode over Asia poisoning all the rivers and drinking waters of over a billion people
6) Sounds impossible? People thought so up until about 40 years ago, but now there are dozens of large, expensive telescopes scanning the skies every night, all over the world, looking for “Near Earth Asteroids”, because astronomers know they are out there and are earth destroying rocks!
e. People will go out of control
1) No love at all, except of self (Mt 24:12)
a) Marriages are simply tolerance sessions
b) Homes are run by the children
c) People only know lust and sex – not love
2) An army of 200,000,000 angry soldiers surround the middle east to attack Israel
3) Intense persecution (Mt 24:9,10) – blaming the “nuts” for all the world problems
a) Against all non-conforming religions
b) Ultimately against the Jews
4) Physical Demons will be loosed upon the earth (Rev 9:1-6)
5) Deaths – over ½ of the world’s population will die of all these disasters in just 3 ½ years (that’s about 4 billion people)!
f. All of the above will set the stage for the rise of the power of the antichrist
C. It will only end at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ – Armageddon (Mt 24:29,30)
1. Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
2. Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
D. So, We Started to Learn About the Anti-Christ from Revelation 6:1,2; 2Thes 2:1-12
E. Let’s continue by studying Revelation chapter 13
V. Message - The Two Beasts of Revelation 13
A. The Book of the Revelation is full of Symbolic Language – that’s for sure
1. But is REVEALS all the symbols of the Old Testament – explaining the symbolism!
2. Hence its NAME… REVELATION
3. Here we have TWO terrifying ‘beasts’ – creatures that come from hell, living as men among men!
4. And a great red dragon (12:3,9) directing everything going on in the world
5. I will give you one guess who the dragon is!
B. The First Beast – the Anti-Christ (13:1-10)
1. On the outside, he is a literal man – the PERFECT man!
a. But only on the surface
b. Beneath his skin lies the most wicked of spirits ever to exist. A creature no horror movie has yet to portray
2. Spiritually, he has seven heads and ten horns
a. Just like Jesus was the LAMB of God…
b. This ‘man’ is a creature, a BEAST with seven heads and ten horns
3. He is the fulfilment of all Daniel’s prophecies about “a coming demonic prince” that takes over the whole world (Daniel 3-11) before the real Messiah comes
4. This is not his first appearance (Cf Gen 3:1).
a. He appeared as a physical, walking, talking SERPENT in the Garden of Eden
b. He then appeared as Judas Iscariot (John 6:70) Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
5. This beast is really three “beasts” (13:2; Cf Daniel 7:1-8), merged into ONE - a trinity!
a. Primarily like a Leopard - fast – devourer - has only 3 ½ years to take over the entire world
b. Having the feet of a Bear – fights like a bear, tearing every opponent apart
c. Having the mouth of a roaring Lion – terrifying when speaks. No one opposes him
d. Put these three animals together and you have what the antichrist will be like
6. This beast obtains three things from Satan, the Dragon (13:2):
a. Power - as in supernatural powers. This ‘man’ is the most powerful man to exist since Jesus Christ walked this planet
b. A Seat (Cf Rev 2:12,13) - He intends to sit on a THRONE in Jerusalem!!!
c. Authority - as in “nobody questions his actions” – he has full permission to do everything he sets out to do, with no limits!
d. So, he is empowered by Satan himself dwelling in him. Not a demon, but Satan Himself – just like Satan did to Judas temporarily (Luke 22:3) Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
7. He comes from a nation around the Mediterranean Sea area – maybe plucked from the sea itself? But from a nation in that area (MAP)
8. He will be half Syrian, and half Jew, like Judas Iscariot was
9. He will not be religious (Dan 11:37) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers [HE IS JEWISH], nor the desire of women [PROBABLY QUEER], nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
a. So, He will not be Jewish in religion
b. He will not be Muslim
c. He will not be Christian
d. He will just be an atheist – worshipping no god
e. But will seek the worship of the world
10. Gets WOUNDED – someone tries to kill him (Rev 13:3,14; Cf Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20)
a. This wound is prophesied
b. As in an attempted coupe! Same thing happened with Hitler.
c. This wound is literal. The Bible says that the wound is a deadly wound (upon his right arm and right eye, that left him crippled, (Zech 11:17), so, either he does not die, or does not stay dead! This beast has power over death as far as the world goes.
d. Zec 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
11. And then miraculously Healed!
12. The whole world get excited about this man and worships HIM
a. Notice how “all the world” wondered at the beast (13:3)
b. Worships his power – from the dragon
c. Worships the beast himself
d. The whole world will fanatically follow him and obey him!
C. What are this beasts’ intentions (13:7,8)?
1. To make war with the saints - not against drugs, or crime! Beware of these “police states” that can turn at any moment upon you!
a. There will be countless numbers of people getting saved during this half of the Tribulation
b. And THEY will pay the price for it
2. To be worshipped (13:4,8) as God (Isaiah 14:12-14)
a. Isa 14:12 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!
b. Isa 14:13 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:
c. Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
3. To rule the entire world - He takes over the world for 3 ½ years (42 months)
a. Not the beginning part of the Tribulation, but the last half of it
b. How?
1) Speaks powerfully, Blaspheming all gods, but especially the GOD of the Bible
a) God’s name
b) God’s heaven
c) God’s people
2) Goes to war with the saints here on earth, and overcomes them
a) During the Tribulation, the saints (believers) will be tracked down, hunted (13:7), and beheaded by the devil incarnate!
b) The saints during this time must have “patience and faith” (13:7) and not revenge (1 Pet 4:12-19).
c) Not us, but people who get saved in the last half of the Tribulation
3) Takes control of every kindred, language and nation – not possible until NOW
c. Only now is one man able to do such things – never before now
d. Is anyone listening? (13:9)
e. If you reject Jesus as YOUR Messiah and Saviour, you will end up following THIS fake Christ, and pay for it for all eternity
4. Do you realize that, He is already at work!
a. 1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
b. 1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
c. 2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
d. Getting people to deny Jesus, and get people to blaspheme the Holy Ghost (at least they think they are)
e. Getting Christian husbands and wives to argue about the most stupid of things
f. Getting teenagers and children to blatantly disobey and dishonour their parents
g. Getting parents to neglect their God ordained job of raising their children RIGHT
h. Getting Christians to mock authority
i. And mock the Bible
j. And follow teachers instead of preachers
k. Getting Churches to deny the urgency of repentance
l. Getting Christians to turn against God’s own people, the Jews
m. Boy, the antichrist has been busy hasn’t he?!
5. By the way, No one will care how wicked he is
a. Because no one will trust any nation or government anymore
b. The whole world will look to only a single super-human man to lead them!
c. A god-like man, like Thor, or Zeus, or Jupiter
1) With his Mark in their foreheads or in the right hands
2) His number controlling people’s movements and ability to buy or sell
3) His worship the only focus of the whole world
d. All in the name of survival during all the disasters – “acts of God!”
e. As long as THEIR lives and lifestyles are not affected
D. Another Beast – the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11-17)
1. Why call this beast the false prophet?
a. Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
b. Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
c. Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
2. This guy is very important to know about
a. Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
b. He is the religious leader of the world
1) The anti-christ is political, and all about power
2) But THIS guy is like the Pope, like a great guru, a powerful televangelist
3. He will be like a young, gentle, innocent LAMB at first - has two little horns, like a young lamb – he is gentle is like Jesus was (13:11)
4. But he speaks like a DRAGON – fierce, terrifying, and destructive (13:12)
5. He has all the power of the anti-christ
6. For one purpose… To get the whole world to worship the anti-christ (13:12)
7. How?
a. Does powerful miracles
1) Like making fire come down out of the sky at will on all enemies. Any army tries to attack him – he just burns them up
2) Like miraculously healing the anit-christ’s wound
b. By making a massive statue / image of the anti-christ
c. And then giving LIFE to that image (maybe AI; maybe more than that)
d. He will use the Mark of the Beast
1) Forces everyone to take a MARK representing the anti-christ / beast IN their forehead, or IN their right hand as a sign or WORSHIP
2) You say that is crazy?
a) It is already in motion
b) Look at India and the Hindus
c) Look at Catholics, and their ash Wednesday mark
d) People put jewellery in the craziest of places! Piercings!
e) Why not names, and numbers and COMPUTER CHIPS?
f) People are already marking up their bodies from top to bottom with tattoos
g) And placing IN their bodies computer chips, and interfaces
h) More in a minute
e. And the slaughters everyone who do not take the mark – terrifying FEAR!
E. What is the Mark of the Beast – of the Anti-Christ?
1. Three things to know about this ‘mark’
a. A symbol / mark in your forehead, or right hand
b. The name of the antichrist in your forehead or right hand
c. The number of the antichrist in your forehead, or right hand
2. The mark of the beast is a tattoo of a symbol of the beast
a. Everything is symbols today - emoji’s
b. As a visible sign of the worship of the antichrist
c. And as a means of controlling the person with the mark!
1) Mind chip
2) Virtual Reality
3) Augmented Reality
3. The name of the beast
a. He has a name that he wants everyone to be repeating
b. At least ONE of his names is, Jude, Judas, Judah
c. He already has his own gospel, called The Gospel According to Judas
d. And guess what? He is the good guy in that story!
4. The number of the beast – 666 (13:18)
a. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man…” the number of the antichrist!
b. The most important thing to watch for is his number everywhere
1) UPC symbols are based on this number
2) www in the internet is 666 in Hebrew
c. Computers are just complex number crunchers
d. That number of the beast is a computer on a chip
e. Computers have made it possible now for one man to control whether you can buy or sell, whether you can get medicines, and whether you can enter or leave a country!
f. People are rapidly seeking to be “chipped”
1) Already in most animals
2) Will be put into newborn babies
3) Militaries are chipping their special force members
4) Companies are asking and some are requiring their employees to be chipped
g. Soon, people will use chips/numbers to buy and sell things
h. You already do it on a HAND held devices right now
1) Amazon
2) Tesco and SuperValu shopping apps
3) You can use your PHONE the same as a credit card (which is CHIPPED ALREADY ANYWAYS)
i. His number is already IN PLACE
j. How much time do you think we have left???
F. The Demonic use of Numbers and Computers…
1. To control populations – the first company to number people was IBM and they numbered all the JEWS in Germany for the government there!
2. To restrict people’s movement
3. To influence people – violent games, sex-apps, internal chips
4. To “protect” people – newborn babies, medical records, etc
5. To separate people from non-conformists
6. To ultimately damn people with a mark of worship of the antichrist
VI. Conclusion - Some final questions…
A. Some final questions…
1. Where is he now?
2. What is he doing right now?
3. How do we react to his work and plans?
4. Will he and the antichrist actually win?
B. So, Where is he now?
1. I believe he is already here
2. Just waiting for the signal – the rapture of the believers out of this world
C. What is he doing right now?
1. He is already busy at work
2. DESTROYING marriages, polluting minds and hearts, creating division and chaos
3. All the while, Building powerful political relationships – like Jeffery Epstein did with 10,000 wicked men and women
4. Teaching “peace seminars” all across the world to every political leader
5. Developing technology that will make nuclear war obsolete, replacing it with nano-technologies that can wipe out entire armies in a second!
D. How do we react to his work and plans?
1. Not with armies and weapons
2. But with changing sides – just moving to the winning side!
3. Because the devil WILL lose one day
a. God, speaking to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden in Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity [WAR] between thee and the woman, and between thy seed [SATAN] and her seed [THE MESSIAH]; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt [ONLY] bruise his heel.
b. Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly…
E. Will the antichrist and false prophet actually win?
1. No!
2. Both WILL be punished with everlasting torment one day
3. Rev 19:19,20 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
F. Don’t think you can wait until things get really bad, and then repent and get saved
1. Everything could change… in the twinkling of an eye
a. Christians could hear a shout and then be gone
b. No more Bible preaching and teaching
c. No more anyone pushing you to get saved from the wrath to come
d. Just the abyss of the devil incarnate, running this world into hell
2. Are you READY?
a. The Bible says NOW is the accepted time, TODAY is the day of salvation
b. 2Cor 6:2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
c. The future is serious business folks!
1) Repent of your own sins – seriously repent! Hate what you are, and what you have done, enough to humble yourself before an almighty, all holy God who SHOULD send you straight to hell, but is ready to forgive you and save your lost soul!
2) Race to Jesus Christ – Cry out to Him in desperation for forgiveness and salvation
3) Rest / Trust in Him alone – trust that HE died in your place, and that it was enough to pay off all your sin debt
4) Resist the devil!