Here Is Perseverance
Revelation 13:1-10
January 22, 2017
As you know we are studying through this book of the Revelation,
And currently we are in the middle of a parenthetical section.
It is a segment meant to reveal that
Despite the rage and rebellion of the enemy,
There is nothing that can be done
To keep Christ from reigning upon the world.
Satan is a loser.
• We’ve seen the child he couldn’t stop
• We’ve seen the battle he couldn’t win
• We’ve seen the woman he couldn’t kill
The final two chapters (13-14) reveal the final defeat of the enemy, illustrated by: THE THRONE SATAN COULDN’T KEEP
We know Satan has been kicked to the earth,
And on the earth, he does everything he can to set up his own kingdom,
And that is what we see unfolding in chapter 13.
In many ways this section works as sort of an overlay of the time period we’ve already covered.
One could say we are examining the same time period
Only from a different perspective.
Having seen the events of the tribulation through the eyes of earth,
We are now seeing them through spiritual eyes.
For example:
We now know why the Antichrist makes such an abrupt change of direction at the 3 ½ year mark of the tribulation, and why he enters the temple and declares himself to be god.
• It is because it was at the 3 ½ year mark that Satan was kicked out of heaven and he was so angry, he just decided to kill everything. So, that world war which unfolds in the second seal makes perfect sense to us now.
We also understand why he unleashed famine and plague on the world.
• It was because God had protected Israel (whom Satan wanted to kill) and made her off limits from his reach. The famine and plagues were an attempt to reach and kill an otherwise unreachable woman.
So those first 4 seals that were opened make even more sense to us now.
We also now better understand that fifth seal that was opened.
Remember in Revelation 6?
Revelation 6:9-11 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ” How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”
That seal was the martyrs revealed.
And now we understand why.
Because of what we learned last week in Revelation 12
Revelation 12:17 “So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
• All those martyrs appeared below the altar because when Satan realized that God was protecting Israel he then set out to make war with anyone who had helped her.
• He killed anyone who determined to be obedient to Christ and to persevere for Him.
So you can see that we are in effect seeing that same time period,
Only from a different perspective.
This morning we enter chapter 13.
Still in that same parenthetical section,
But chapter 13 seems to better explain the final verse of chapter 12.
We learned that Satan went out to “make war with” those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Ch. 13 reveals Satan’s all out attempt to seize total control of the earth and to annihilate anyone who stands in his way.
But more than just an informative section on the workings of the enemy,
It is important that you understand
THE APPLICATION THIS SECTION HAS FOR YOUR LIFE.
Typically when people ask me questions about the book of Revelation
Chapter 13 is the chapter I field the most questions on.
There are plenty of curious things in this chapter.
• Why does God allow the antichrist to kill the saints?
• What is the mark of the beast?
• Why does God allow him to get away with all of that?
So let me help you understand what John is doing in this chapter.
There are two main points that are drawn from this chapter.
Two main issues John wants to drive into the mind and heart of his readers.
FIRST we read of the attack of the antichrist and his ability to slay the saints and then John says:
(9-10) “If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
There is your first main point.
This first section is about the perseverance and faith of the saints.
THEN we read of the rise of the false prophet and him forcing everyone to take the mark of the beast and John says:
(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.”
There is your second main point.
The second section of this chapter is about the wisdom of the saints.
We have here Satan doing everything he can
To establish and maintain his kingdom on the earth,
And it is during this time of tribulation and persecution
That we can learn the most about perseverance, faith, and wisdom.
WE BEGIN by looking at this segment
Which ends with an explanation about perseverance.
And allow me to just state for you the importance of perseverance.
As we said last week, it is one of the necessary attributes of saving faith.
If you don’t have perseverance then you don’t have faith.
We are not saying that in order to be saved you must make it to the end
As though perseverance is the means of salvation.
Perseverance is a fruit of salvation.
Perseverance is a byproduct of genuine faith.
We say, that if you have perseverance then your faith is real,
If you don’t have perseverance then your faith is not real.
1 John 2:18-19 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
These were not real believers
We know that because they did not persevere.
It was their lack of perseverance that revealed the phoniness of their faith.
WHAT IS THE POINT THEN?
Perseverance is essential.
You must have it.
This morning we see what it looks like.
And we are going to see it displayed
In the absolute darkest time in the history of the world.
SO (at this point)…
• Satan has been kicked out of heaven and he is angry
• His objective is to kill Israel and anyone who will help her
• And his means is to do so through his puppet ruler known as the antichrist.
3 main points which we need to expound on
#1 THE RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST
Revelation 13:1-4
Here we see the rise of the antichrist; we see his ascendancy to power.
And we see it from that spiritual perspective.
We’ve already seen his rise to power from an earthly perspective.
Revelation 6:1-2 “Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
• Hopefully you will remember how we talked about this man’s rise to power.
• How he ascends to the throne without any real credential or right to do so.
• “a crown was given to him”, he didn’t earn it.
• He “had a bow” but no arrows, it was a symbolic picture of authority
• The earth puts this man in power because they love his message of peace and tolerance.
He is given a kingdom by what is called “The 10 king confederation”
Or as some refer to as “The European Confederation”
Revelation 17:12-13 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.”
There is coming a day in the future
When you will have this sort of revamped Roman empire.
It will be a union of European nations (10 to be exact)
And they will all agree to give up their crowns and their thrones
And give authority and rule to this one man who can lead the world in peace.
That is his rise from an earthly perspective.
But here in chapter 13 we see it from a spiritual perspective.
(1-2) “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.”
Here is why this man really comes to power.
Satan is behind it all.
In verse 1 we have a picture of Satan standing on the shore calling up “a beast” who comes “up out of the sea”.
WHAT?
• The “sea” is a reference to the abyss or to the bottomless pit.
• If you will remember back in chapter 9, this is the prison of demons.
• This was the place we saw opened and the demonic invasion occurred.
What you are seeing coming here is not the man who is the antichrist,
But rather the demonic spirit that will control him.
We read that he has “ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.”
The “ten horns” represent those ten kings which will give their power to the antichrist.
And now we find that the reason they will do so
Is because this demonic presence was controlling them too.
We see that he also has “seven heads” which you will remember represents those 7 nations which have plagued Israel in her history.
(Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media/Persia, Greece, Rome, kingdom of antichrist)
Which means that he was that same demonic presence
Which has been at work throughout history to influence world rulers
And to try and annihilate the Jews.
And now we also find that “on his heads were blasphemous names.”
Every time this demonic presence influenced a nation
They not only served as an attack on Israel,
But also as a blasphemy against God.
• We can listen as Pharaoh blasphemes the God of Moses.
• We can listen as Sennacharib of Assyria blasphemed God before Hezekiah.
• We can watch Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon build an idol and demand to be worshiped…
• We can watch Darius the Mede pass a law that no one can pray to anyone but him…
• We can see Antiochus Epiphanes of Greece demand worship from the Jews…
• We can see Herod in Rome take glory for the kingdom for which God caused him to die and be eaten by worms…
All of those nations and all of those rulers
Are making much more sense to us now.
They were all under Satanic control.
And the demon which controlled them is called into action again,
And he is working through this man whom we know as Antichrist.
He will hate the Jews as he always has…
He will blaspheme God as he always has…
He will persecute the righteous as he always has…
Are you seeing picture behind the scenes now?
It sheds light on what Paul told us about spiritual warfare:
Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
We may see the man, but it is the devil behind him who is really at work.
And that is even further illustrated in verse 2.
“And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion.”
WHAT IN THE WORLD?
• Daniel was one who had much to say about this man named Antichrist.
• Furthermore Daniel was able to see the demonic influence behind him and how he affected the nations which afflicted Israel.
Daniel 7:1-8 “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
Daniel saw 4 beasts also coming from the sea,
Which again speaks to their demonic influence.
The first was a lion which wings like an eagle, but one which had its wings clipped and ultimately which had a human mind given to it.
• This was Nebuchadnezzar who had been given sovereignty and power by God and authority to conquer. But if you’ll remember he was arrogant before God so God caused him to lose his sanity for 7 years and to eat grass like a cow until his mind returned to him and he worshiped God.
The second beast was a bear which was raised up more on one side.
• This was the Medes and the Persians, and the Persians were a little greater, which is why the bear was raised on one side. The 3 ribs were the 3 nations they conquered to ascend to power.
The third beast was leopard which had four wings and four heads.
• This was Greece who came to power under Alexander the Great, but which was split into four separate kingdoms after Alexander died.
Daniel predicted all of this, and history fulfilled it.
But Daniel also saw a 4th beast which was even more terrifying and it had 10 horns, and out of the 10 one little one rose up to seize control from the other 10.
SO WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
This is Daniel’s 4th beast.
This is the beast with the 10 horns.
This is the kingdom of the Antichrist.
The one who is now reigns is the most evil and destructive ruler the world has ever known for all time.
• Although it looks like he came to power because he has the answers for world peace.
• Although it looks like the 10 king confederation trusted him and wanted to give him control.
• At the end of verse 2 we find out why really comes to power.
“And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.”
NOW LET ME PAUSE AT MOMENT
AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT HERE.
Hopefully you are aware of what we call “The Trinity”.
• God the Father
• God the Son (Jesus)
• God the Holy Spirit
Well, what you are seeing in Revelation 13 is the phony trinity of Satan.
• You have the dragon – Satan
• You have the beast – (a human counterfeit)
• You have the prophet – who duplicates the role of the Holy Spirit
Satan is counterfeiting God’s trinity here.
And in this man he has his counterfeit savior.
This man is Satan’s phony Messiah.
Antichrist is the man who took the deal that Jesus rejected.
Remember when Jesus came to earth and was tempted by the devil?
Matthew 4:8-10 “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”
Antichrist will accept the offer and he will do so ultimately to his doom.
But he is Satan’s demonic controlled puppet.
He is Satan’s counterfeit Jesus, his counterfeit Messiah.
To prove that even further,
Look at the event Satan uses to catapult this man into worldwide fame.
(3-4) I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”
Here we find that one of his heads appears to have “been slain”
But “his fatal wound was healed.”
It is a counterfeit death and resurrection.
Later in the chapter down in verse 14 we read:
Revelation 13:14 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”
Someone will slay this man with the sword
And Satan will miraculously deliver him.
When the world sees this they will all be enamored with him
And will pledge their allegiance to him.
But take special notice as to why they will love him.
They worship him and the dragon who gave him his authority and they will say, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”
Now let’s put that into perspective as well.
Do you remember that sixth seal which will open and how there is a great earthquake and all of the earth sees God on His throne and the Lamb and they are terrified?
Revelation 6:16-17 “and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The earth will know that God is angry at sinners.
• Of course then we found that the trumpets started to blast
• We saw fire burning the earth
• The ocean to blood
• The fresh water made bitter
• A demonic army and all of that stuff.
But do you remember the response we saw after the 7th trumpet blasted?
Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
That means that on the earth we will have a helpless
And yet totally rebellious people.
(They knew they couldn’t stand, but still wouldn’t repent)
What they will want is a deliverer; a savior from the wrath of God.
And in Antichrist they think they’ve found it.
When this guy survives death (which is a major problem on the earth)
They will think they’ve found their deliverer.
AND THE WORLD WILL GO AFTER HIM.
THIS IS WHAT WE SEE AS THE RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST.
That’s the Rise of the Antichrist.
#2 THE RAGE OF THE ANTICHRIST
Revelation 13:5-7
We talked about how Christ reigns despite the rage of the enemy.
Well here is that rage further explained.
You see here that this antichrist ruler is the recipient of 4 things.
It is spotted by the phrase “given to him” used 4 times.
He is given A Message
(5a) “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies”
He will spew off at the mouth in unthinkable blasphemy against God.
This will be part of his aura and mystique to the world.
They are looking for the guy who can overthrow God
And this guy will claim the ability to do so.
He is given A Platform from which to speak it
(5b) “and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.”
God actually allows him to speak freely for 3 ½ years
Without overthrowing him or shutting his mouth.
And so naturally this man will take full advantage of what God allows.
(6) “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”
This man sets out to declare war on heaven
And the God who sits enthroned there.
And the world will love it.
Daniel 7:8 “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
Daniel 7:25 “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”
He is given Power to kill anyone who opposes him
(7a) “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them,”
There will be some on earth who will not stand for his blasphemous talk and will no doubt seek to expose him.
And God will allow him to kill those people
So that it gives the appearance that God is actually losing
And antichrist is actually winning.
Daniel 8:24-25 “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. “And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.”
He is given the Support of the world to continue
(7b) “and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”
This man will rule the world
And he will do so with a platform of aggression against God
And against God’s people.
And the point is that it will look like he is defeating God.
• It will appear like God can’t do anything to stop this loud mouthed persecutor.
• It will be the rage of Satan like nothing ever before on the earth.
The Rise of Antichrist, The Rage of Antichrist
#3 THE RESULT OF THE ANTICHRIST
Revelation 13:8
He will be so effective in what he does
That everyone will love him and follow him.
In fact, the only way to not fall prey to his threats and boasts
Is by the supernatural deliverance of God.
The only people who do not succumb to him are the elect.
The only people who do not yield to him are those whom God has chosen.
“everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
• Where are the names written? “the book of life of the Lamb”
• Who wrote them there? (obviously God)
• When did He write them there? “from the foundation of the world”
The only people who survive are those whom God has chosen to survive.
To put it a better way,
It is only by grace that anyone is able to resist the Antichrist.
It falls back to what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse
Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
This man will rise under Satanic influence
And will deceive the whole world,
Except for those whom God chooses to not allow him to deceive.
Now I know people don’t like this reality, our world instantly cries,
“That’s not fair!”
And they then try to say it is somehow God’s fault then
That these people aren’t saved.
That is to totally distort reality.
THE POINT IS THAT EVERYONE WOULD BE DECEIVED
WERE IT NOT FOR GOD’S GRACE.
People say, “It’s not fair that God didn’t give everyone the choice of either following Him or following Antichrist.”
If He would have, then everyone would have followed the Antichrist.
They only reason anyone resists Him is because God intervened
(by pure grace) and chose not to allow some to be deceived.
Here we have God not allowing Satan to have total victory.
What you must understand here is that:
WE HAVE THE MOST DIFFICULT CULTURE FOR FAITH AND PERSEVERANCE THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.
(In fact, no one would be saved where it not for God’s sovereign election)
And yet, even during this most difficult time,
I want you to see the mandate of Scripture.
(9-10) “If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
Even at this most difficult time what is it that God expects from His people?
“perseverance” and “faith”
Even in a time when God is allowing this satan-controlled maniac
To blaspheme His name and kill His people;
Even then God expects “perseverance” and “faith”.
The good news is that God is supplying strength to His people
To maintain that “perseverance” and “faith”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US?
(Remember John is recording this for your sake)
If God expects perseverance and faith from these during this time, what do you suppose God expects from you during your trials?
If God gives grace to persevere in trust to His elect even during this time, what do you suppose God will give to His elect today during their trials?
“HERE IS the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
I’ll leave you with a quote from Martin Luther:
“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is more flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
(sited in: MacArthur, John; The Truth War, Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception; [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN; 2007] pg. 26)
THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
