By Pastor Greg...
It was raining hard, and a big puddle had formed in front of the
little Irish pub. An old man stood beside the puddle holding a stick with a string on the end and jiggled it up and down in the
water. A curious gentleman asked what he was doing. “Fishing,”
replied the old man. “Poor old bugger,”
thought the gentleman, so he invited the old man to have a drink in the pub. Feeling he should start some conversation
while they were sipping their whiskey, the gentleman asked, “And how many have
you caught today?” Without looking up
from his drink, the old man replied, “You're the eighth.”
There are people like this old man all
over our world. It seems just about
every day we read a story about this kind of deception. Sadly, this even happens in religious
circles. And, as we read in Revelation,
one day a man will come along claiming to be the Messiah. He will mimic Jesus, but he is a deceiver; a
liar driven by the “great deceiver” himself.
Revelation 13:1-10. 1 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It
had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on
each head were names that blasphemed God. 2 This beast looked
like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the
dragon gave the beast his own power and
throne and great authority.
3 I saw that one of the heads
of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The
whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. 4 They worshiped the
dragon for giving the beast such power,
and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they
exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies
against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two
months. 6 And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and
his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 And the
beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.
And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and
nation. 8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped
the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life
before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered.
9 Anyone with ears to hear
should listen and understand. 10 Anyone who is destined for
prison
will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword
will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure
persecution patiently and remain faithful. [1]
Scary stuff, right? This whole scene is alarming. A leader who initiates peace is killed, but
he rises from the dead, assumes power, presents himself as the Messiah, and has
people follow him because of the miracle.
But he isn’t the Christ; he is the Antichrist – a false Christ – who
leads the world astray.
This dictator is a Gentile (that’s
what the word “sea” means in this section).
He is called a “beast” for many reasons.
He is described as a leopard, a bear, and a lion – the three “beasts”
mentioned in Daniel 7. Daniel is told
these beasts represent three kingdoms; Babylon, Persia, and Greece. And these three kingdoms were conquered by Rome;
a “terrible beast,” says Daniel. In John’s vision, Rome represents the
Antichrist. And because of this, some
biblical scholars feel the Antichrist will rise to power in Rome and reunite
these nations into one evil power.
This false resurrection probably happens
midway through the 7-year tribulation.
As Satan is thrown to the earth, he resurrects this world leader who,
empowered and influenced by Satan, marches directly into Jerusalem, kills the
two witnesses, enters the Temple, and presents himself as the Messiah.
Sadly, the world is amazed by this miracle
and begins to follow this “beast of a man.”
In other words, they become his “disciples.” And as directed, they worship the dragon - which is Satan - and curse the God of heaven
just like the beast.
Why do you suppose John shared these
visions with the Church? Why is the
image of this beast so important? If the
Church is called to Heaven several years before this event, why warn people of
this great deception? I think it’s
because Satan is already attempting
to deceive the world; he is busy trying to influence men and women right now. And John knew this. In 1 John 2:18, he says that many antichrists
have appeared. Of course, John is not
speaking about “The Antichrist,” but instead
about individuals who deceive and lead people astray in the spirit of the Antichrist. We have seen world leaders over the years who
behave like the Antichrist, but they are not empowered by Satan, merely influenced by him.
And they are still among us today.
I understand if you have some concern
about being deceived. Perhaps you wonder
if one of these antichrists has led you astray.
Paul assures us that no one can say “Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1
Corinthians 12:3). It is God’s Spirit
who helps us know the difference between Truth and Lies (1 John 2:21). It is the Holy Spirit who causes us to lift
our hands toward Heaven and cry “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15); “Abba means
“papa.” If the Holy Spirit lives in you,
you will not curse Jesus. If we have
been led astray by one of these “little antichrists,” we would be led to curse Jesus or deny that He is fully God – to
deny His deity. We would deny the fullness of His work on the
cross. However, because we believe these
things and worship Jesus as Savior and Son, we can be sure our faith is
grounded in Truth. As John says, “Who is the liar but
the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one
who denies the Father and the Son” [2] (1
John 2:22).
John wrote these things as a warning;
there will be people in this world who, in the spirit of the Antichrist,
attempt to lead you away from Jesus (1 John 2:26). For this reason, God gives each believer His
Spirit. And God’s Holy Spirit teaches us
what we need to know. Realizing that
Satan is even now attempting to deceive us, Christians need to remain steadfast
in their faith and trust the words written by those who walked with Christ.
I find it sad that during this
Tribulation people will be so thirsty for the truth that they will even believe
a lie. They will want answers; they will
long for someone to save them but
will be deceived by a counterfeit. And
in a way, I think the same thing is happening today.
Although there are many people today
who want to deceive the world (1 John 2:26), we have the Spirit of God to keep
us from being deceived. But what about
the rest of the world? Is there some way
they can tell the difference between lies and the Truth? Of course, a faithful Christians could lead
someone to Christ; that should be our highest priority as a church. But Peter challenges Christians to, “Live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if
they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they
will give honor to God when he judges
the world” [3]
(1 Peter 2:12). According to Peter, a
Christian’s honorable behavior
becomes a testimony to the Truth of God.
Since there are many deceivers, the
Church must live in such a way that the people of this world recognize the
Truth through us. And when something
counterfeit comes along, they will see it for what it is; deception from the
enemy.
For I am convinced that there are many
people in our world today who are thirsty for the Truth; I pray they might see
and hear the real message of the cross through us before it is too late.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Re 13:1–10). Carol Stream,
IL.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (1 Jn 2:22). La
Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., 1 Pe 2:12). Carol
Stream, IL.
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