← ArchiveHidden RevealedWho is like the Beast? (Revelation 12:18 – 13:4)DateOctober 16, 2022SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextRevelation 12:18–13:4Passages in this sermonRevelation 132:32Revelation 128:29Daniel 710:36Genesis 1315:44Revelation 13:316:10Revelation 516:41John 516:41Mark 819:46Revelation 7:335:56Revelation 1436:09Deuteronomy 636:19TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00*music*0:30*music* *music* Okay, welcome to the church that worships at Bethel Baptist.0:55My name is Josh, lead pastor and one of our pastors here on staff. Today I have the joy of bringing the word of Christ to you in the book of Revelation. We've been in Revelation for several weeks together. Listen, if you are new, we want to remind you why we worship and we want to say thank you. So the reason we worship, whether you are watching online or you're lurking in the balcony,1:22or you are brave and sitting down here on the floor. We worship because of the gospel. Jesus in our place. So if you've wandered in here and you're thinking, I don't belong, I'm a sinner. Jesus died for sinners. Of whom we are the worst. Welcome. But you can be redeemed and sealed by the blood of the lamb. If you are new here, we want to give God glory for you.1:51I saw a friend I haven't seen in months because of an illness. They've been away from the fellowship and God brought them back today. And hopefully his wife will be here next week as she recovers from surgery. So I'm going to clap for them today. But church, would you just give honor to God for those who are new in our midst today? And let me remind you, I have a friend who had cancer and is battling that. And she told me, she said, every time I hear the church clap, she said, I know you're doing that because I can't come.2:17She said, thank you. It means a lot. So I want to thank you on behalf of those who are new. And there are new people every single week in this gathering. So Revelation 13, and we're going to continue a series we call Hidden Things Revealed. So if you've not been here often, let me catch you up. Here's Revelation in 10 seconds. Chapters 1 through 5 answer the question, who is worthy to open the scroll?2:43And we know that the answer is there's no one worthy except one. His name is Jesus Christ. He was the lamb slain before the foundations of the world. Chapters 6 through 20, where we are now, answers the question, who can stand in the judgment of a holy God? And the answer is no one can. Only those who have been sealed by the blood of the lamb, the one who was worthy, are made worthy.3:08That's Revelation. Let's go home. You know me better than that. But today, we answer this question. The world, and we see this new worshiping people, worshiping the beast, say, who can stand to the beast that we worship?3:27It's a reminder that Revelation demonstrates that we are in a war of worship. We are in a war of worship. David Tripp says it this way. Human beings, by their very nature, are worshipers.3:54Worship is not something that we do. It's who we are. You cannot divide human beings into those who worship and those who do not. Everybody worships. It's just a matter of what or whom we serve. So even if today... I love what my friend James says as he prayed earlier. He said, "Every head bowed unless you're an unbeliever."4:22But even you are worshiping someone and something. You're just not worshiping what is true and right. We're all worshipers and we will judge our life by what we worship. So today, as we read Revelation 13, remember that this is simply the age-old story told in a fresh way. It's the age-old story of worship. But this time, there's a dragon and two beasts.4:48So we see from the world's perspective who can stand against the beast. Worship from an unbeliever's perspective. And it should break our hearts. As we cry out and say, "Jesus, redeem us. Redeem this world." So let me read verse 18 of chapter 12 and then we will go through verse 4. This is an instance where actually the modern chapter and verse divisions aren't helpful.5:16Because I think that verse 18 of chapter 12 actually belongs in chapter 13, verse 1. So we're going to start where that natural division begins. 12:18 The dragon stood on the sea, the sand of the sea. Now the point John is making is that he is standing between the division of the water and the land.5:42We'll come back to that. Verse 1 now. 12:18 12:19 12:20 12:20 13:20 13:20 14:20 14:20 15:20 15:206:1115:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:20 15:206:4015:207:0915:20 15:20 prophecy and the foretelling and the foretelling. So Father, we simply ask today, help us not get lost in the details, but help us keep the main things and main things. And Lord, if we only have one vision in our lives from this day until you call us home into glory, may we see a picture of the risen lamb, the one who was slain, but rose again7:31that seals those who know you, that writes our name in the lamb's book of life. And Lord, help us not love our life even to death, that we would be faithful. Lord, this saying calls for endurance and may you find your people who are called by your name faithful to the end.8:00Lord, we give you glory and honor. May we never lift our souls up to the beast or to the dragon. Because you alone are worthy to receive honor and glory forever and ever. Lord, we pray today in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. So Revelation chapter 13, after Satan fails to prevent the Messiah's birth, as we read last week in Revelation 12, and he prevents the redemption of all who believe in faith alone.8:29Remember, it's the image of the dragon chasing the pregnant woman. And we said, how in the world can a pregnant female overcome a dragon? And yet, by God's mercy and grace, she gives birth. And we know that's a picture of Jesus Christ. The dragon stood in opposition, but Jesus was born, lived a sinless life. The dragon stood in opposition, but Jesus died. The dragon stood in opposition, but three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.8:57And Satan is furious, Revelation 12 tells us. And now we see him standing in the land and the sea. Earlier, we were told that Yahweh sends a mighty angel. And this mighty angel puts his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. So this is the point what John's making for us. The dragon is standing on the seashore as a reminder that he is ultimately bound by Yahweh.9:26This is not Satan's property. He is standing on that which God has already displayed his authority over. And this is the spiritual truth. Satan has limited authority, and he has no place in heaven. And so we find Satan picking up seashells by the seashore in defeat. That's what John's telling us. No matter how bad it gets, Satan's time is limited and his authority is limited.9:55Do not give up. Let him pick up seashores because Jesus has redeemed all who believe. And now we see on the seashore, John envisioning by the Holy Spirit's anointing this beast. And then we see it slowly rising from the sea. And we're given the picture of what the beast looks like, right? It looks like a leopard, but it doesn't have leopard feet.10:25It has bear feet, but it doesn't have a bear mouth. It has a lion's mouth. And this is a retelling of what Daniel sees in Daniel chapter 7. Really, John combines the four world empires. He combines the four beasts of Daniel into a great beast. As if to say, you haven't seen anything yet. Satan will not stop until he is ultimately, futilely defeated by Jesus Christ.10:55And we see here this person emerge from the sea. Now, some see in this beast what we would call the Antichrist or the man of lawlessness, the one who is to come. And I would say this might very well be the case. However, let me say this. In Revelation, the word Antichrist is never used in the book of Revelation.11:22And the only New Testament use of the word Antichrist is found in 1 John, where it refers not to an individual, but to a spirit or to anyone who teaches false teachings against the gospel and who lives in a spirit of revolt against Jesus Christ. This is what Irenaeus, who was born 30 years after John, the writer here, says.11:46He's an early church father. His counsel to Christians, 50 years after Revelation, is that they should simply wait for the actual fulfillment of the Antichrist identity, which would be abundantly clear. And Irenaeus says this, 50 years after Revelation, before YouTube, before the TikToks, before the gram. He says, it is more certain and less hazardous to Christian credibility if you quit speculating.12:16He basically tells the early church, stop trying to make the beast every single person. He said, you're losing credibility. And he says, it's hazardous to your spirit. He says, there will be no doubt that when the beast comes, you will see. He says, when the Antichrist comes, you will know.12:45Quit speculating. Irenaeus, I appreciate you. Because the same is still true today. Now, I would argue that there is little doubt that in my mind that this beast might represent one individual one day. But it is clear in Revelation that this beast is much more than an individual. For John, the beast was the Roman Empire, the persecutor of the church, and represents the satanic nature of any earthly power or any individual opposed to the way of the Messiah.13:09As 1 John would say, the Antichrist is any person who stands in opposition to the ways of Jesus Christ. When you were wandering away from the goodness of God in your life, when you rejected his mercy, you were living as a little A Antichrist.13:29You were living opposed to the power of Jesus Christ. You were living according to the dominion of the dragon. And what we see in Revelation 13, the dragon gives power.13:57There's a beast from the sea who emerges and a beast from the land. So let's count together. Dragon 1, beast 2, beast 3. Can you think of any other tripart entity that Satan would try to re-engineer? How about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? This is nothing than Satan's attempt at an anti-holy trinity.14:27And by the way, he failed. He fails. This is a war of worship. And if you hear nothing else, next time you hear someone speculate at the beast or the country, that might be true, but there's a greater truth. This is a war for your worship and your soul. Do not get lost from an earthly perspective.14:56God is giving us heavenly perspectives. So let's look at verse 3. Now, this is no ordinary wound. It's fatal, but it's not. That's not my word. That's the God's word, right? It appeared fatal, but it was healed. Again, everything Jesus does, Satan wants to mimic.15:26We're not told here in Scripture where the wound comes from in Revelation. But Genesis tells us about the wound. If you would indulge me. Genesis 13, this is the Lord speaking. He says, I will put hostility between you, the serpent, and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. And by the way, there's a seed of Eve that will come one day.15:56And serpent, listen to this. This seed will strike your head and you will strike its heel. You see the connection? Let me again read Revelation chapter 13, verse 3. And on one of its heads appeared to be something that was fatally wounded, but that wound was healed. God says that Jesus one day will strike the what of the serpent?16:24The head of the serpent. This is a reminder that God deals the wound. It's the same word, wound, used to describe Jesus the Lamb. In John chapter 5, Revelation chapter 5, the wound is Revelation's ultimate reminder that when the Son of God was slain, Jesus ultimately crushed the head of the serpent16:49and provided ultimate victory to all who believe. We see that this wound was not ultimately healed. But Jesus conquers the dragon and conquers Satan by his wound. This is what John is pointing us to. And it's a reminder that the church, even though evil still currently reigns, was temporarily healed, and we look at our world,17:17and I still see brokenness. I still see hurt. I still see miscarriages and cancer and divorce. I see people who know the love of God, who walk away from the love of God. And we look and say, God, you said you were going to make everything right. Why is everything not right? Revelation says,17:46Revelation says, well, the wound of Satan looks healed, but it is not. Jesus one day will return. And it's a reminder to the church, do not give up. Although evil still reigns, the slain lamb causes the death of the beast. There is a war of worship for our souls. Verse 4. And so the world worships. They worship the dragon.18:15Why? Because he gave authority to the beast. They worship the beast, saying, who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it? I know one. Jesus Christ can. We will see that to be true. At first blush, you might ask yourself, who would want to worship a creature with 10 horns, seven heads, and bear's feet. But we see here a description of Satan.18:43Right? The fatal wound appears to be healed, which is a great imitation of the slain lamb. Satan has always been the great imitator. But he's a phony. He's a fraud. Don't worship Satan. Amazed, the world begins to worship and follow the beast. Here's the heartbreaking irony for you who have ever read the gospel. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and the world ridicules it as a lie.19:12Now the false Christ imitates the Messiah, and the world believes the lie. There was a resurrection, and the world saw it as foolishness. And now there's a false resurrection, and the world sees it as true. Again, Satan is the great imitator. Did you see the words that were used here? They were amazed, and they followed the beast.19:40This is a word that Jesus uses. In Mark 8, he says this about discipleship. He said to the disciples, It's the same word used here of people who follow the dragon. The beast desires your worship. And again, it's Revelation's reminder20:09that there is no such thing as a non-worshiping individual. Everyone here is worshiping someone or something. The only choice we get is what we worship. So I ask you right now, what are you worshiping in your life? So I don't worship anyone. I'm agnostic or I'm atheist. I don't worship anyone or anything. Yes, you do. Maybe you're worshiping yourself. Maybe you're worshiping your ideas.20:38Maybe you're worshiping relationships and hope and church. You know, we want to think that we have evolved as society. None of us would say, Well, I worship a beast with ten horns and seven heads, with bear's feet and lion's mouth, and it looks like a lion. No one would raise their hand and say, I worship that. But our beasts are just as hideous. If you worship your body,21:09you will always feel ugly. If you worship money, you will always feel insecure. If you worship at the altar of relationship, we'll always feel lonely, won't we? If we worship at the altar of intellect or education, we'll always have the fear of being a fraud. And if you worship at the altar of being a good person, we'll die a hundred deaths of never measuring up.21:36Church, we reimagine the beast, but our modern beasts are no more refined than this beast in Revelation. Again, what are you worshiping today? Verse 7. And this beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe,22:06people, language, and nation. Again, we know that one day, every nation, tribe, and language will bow down to the one true God. Again, Satan is the great imitator. Again, let me remind you, he is a fake, a fool, and a phony. All those who live on the earth, again, this is John's way of saying unbelievers, unrepentant people who do not worship the Lamb. All those who live on the earth will worship the beast.22:35Everyone whose name was what? Not written in the Lamb's book of life from the foundation of the world. The Lamb who was slaughtered. This is the beast that wages war. The most remarkable thing we see here, in my opinion, is that those who live on the earth will not have their names written23:02in the Lamb's book of life. Whose book? Whose book? The Lamb's. It's not said in Revelation, but I believe that the beast also has a book. But that book saves no one. It only enslaves. But there is a better book. There's a holy book. And the only way that your name can find its way in that book23:31is to be written. But not in any ink. Your name must be written in the blood of the Lamb. And that book promises that your name will never be blotted out. And there is no dragon, there is no beast that can blot out your name from the Lamb's book of life. Church, it's a reminder here that true believers are citizens of heaven23:59no matter how evil the earth is. No matter what happens. If one day we lose our life because we refuse to worship at the altar of evil, your name remains in the Lamb's book of life. There is a war for our worship. But this is not the only beast. There's a second beast. And you're thinking, Pastor, it gets worse. Unfortunately, it does. Look at verse 11.24:28Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. The first comes from the sea. The first comes from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb. Again, have you heard of a lamb in Revelation? Yes. The lamb is Jesus Christ. What is Satan doing? He is imitating to the best of his ability what is holy and true.24:58But it is always frail, weak, and ungodly. But the lamb spoke like a dragon. And it's a reminder here that the beast, second beast imitates Jesus, but it can't mask his voice. And this is what John is telling us, in my opinion. An actual test of faith is always this. Does what I do or hear or say bring us back to Scripture?25:26And does it glorify God? What you are doing might look beautiful, but Satan can't mask his voice. It might look like a lamb, but as soon as it speaks, you realize it's dragonness. And so if you have something in your life, a temptation, if you have someone that's preaching eloquently, give them enough time. And if that does not bring you back to the glory of the Lord, it is not from Jesus Christ. Satan cannot hide his voice.25:57Verse 12, it exercises all authority over the first beast and it's on its behalf and compels the whole earth and those who live on the earth to what? To worship the first beast. Again, revelation is a battle for your worship. It might be a battle for world domination one day, but there's a greater battle than world domination. There's a battle for your soul26:25that is ongoing daily and whose fatal wound was healed. Verse 13, it also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast telling all those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.26:53Whew! The role of the second beast is to cause the worship of the first beast. Let me give you a spiritual application here. If the first beast represents power, strength, and any military might that Satan uses for his glory and his purposes. The second beast27:22represents any false religion that Satan uses for his glory and for his cheap imitation. And all seven churches in Revelation would have lived this reality daily because their cities and individuals vied for the right to build imperial temples to worship Rome to better their lives. You remember the church in Ephesus had this beautiful statue to Artemis,27:52to Artemis, this Roman god, false worship, and the false worship led them to the emperor, right? The strength of Satan and the worship of Satan. It was one of the seven known wonders of the world. And the church in Ephesus, when they gathered in the name of Jesus Christ had this false god and that shadow looming over the whole town. And Jesus is saying do not bow down to that and do not bow down to Rome. Church,28:24Church, false religion has always been a tool of Satan from the beginning. And it remains a stumbling block even to this day. from the very beginning in the garden. What does Satan tell Adam and Eve? He said, did God really say you can't eat that? He just doesn't want you to become like him. You become your own gods. We would say it this way.28:54Well, you just do what feels best to you. The greatest expression is your individual expression. So if you want to do this, you be you. And Adam and Eve worship at the false god of self-identity. And sin enters the world. And that same false god runs rampant today. Dean and Sarah in his book, The Unsaved Christian says it this way. He says, we often worship at the God of cultural Christianity.29:23Being a self-identified Christian for cultural reasons rather than the good news of the gospel is commonplace in America. The tragic reality is that some don't believe they need Jesus. These beautiful, loving, moral, American Christians live without Christ. In church, I would argue that that is nothing less than the hellish, propaganda of the second beast. Christianity29:53Christianity without Christ is not Christianity. It's the second beast reimagined. And it doesn't look like a leopard. It doesn't have bare feet or ten horns or crowns because we would run away. But it is equally evil and ungodly. Church, who are you worshiping today? Revelation is a battle of worship. Verse 15,30:22Verse 15, and this second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship. Again, John is screaming at us, listen, this is a battle for your worship. It's a battle for your soul and the image of the beast to be killed. And it makes everyone great and small, rich and poor, free and slave to receive the mark30:51on his right hand or on his forehead. So there's a mark that will be where? Two places, potentially. Right hands, forehead. So I would argue if they're not going to put the microchip on your hand or on your forehead, I would say it's probably not the beast because it's on the skin. We'll come back to that. So that no one could buy or sell anything unless he had the mark. The beast's name or the number31:21of his name is cause for wisdom. Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast because it is the number of a person and the number is 666. It's not hard to imagine this scene, is it? But this is nothing new, church. This is what Daniel who writes about some of this image would have experienced in Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar built a 99-foot statue31:48and said this, whoever does not bow down to the statue will lose their life. And so the whole earth bowed down. except three. And Nebuchadnezzar said, who dares usurp the authority of the beast? How dare you throw them in the furnace? And so the people of God,32:18the covenant people of God are thrown in the furnace. And something unique happens. One, Nebuchadnezzar is so furious that the fire kills those who are throwing the three in the furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar looks at his satraps and says, hey, I thought we threw three people in. Like, there's a visitor and they're not burning. God protects32:48protects his covenant people. And it is no accident that Revelation picks up on Daniel's language to say, as God rescued his people in Babylon, he will rescue his people in Rome. And as God rescues his people in Rome, church, he will rescue them in 2022. Do not give up. Do not grow weary. The beast has been waging war since the beginning of time. But he will33:17not be victorious. Thyatira would have understood this mark well. They lived on a trade route. And to make a living, they would have had to join a trade guild. In Thyatira at that time, it wasn't a simple society. To join a coppersmith guild or a blacksmith guild, you had to pay allegiance to the god of the blacksmith or the god of the coppersmith.33:45And to not receive that mark and to not receive that education would have been a difficult upbringing. And so the church at Thyatira had to make a choice. Do we receive a mark of Rome and build a pretty good life for ourselves? Or do we reject the mark of Rome? Do we struggle? Do we believe that the mark of Jesus is better? And the church at Rome,34:15Rome, church in Thyatira under Rome chose well. let me ask you, would you pledge your allegiance to another if it meant that you would prosper? Now some of you say, well I would never get a tattoo on my forehead. I would never get 666. That's not what I asked. Would you give your allegiance to someone or something else if it meant you would prosper? Maybe the34:45Maybe the mark of the beast sounds like this in your life. Maybe it's a shady business deal. No one will see. It's just, we're just going to cook the books a little bit. Maybe it's joining a secret society that demand your worship and your allegiance. Maybe for you it's just one night. No one will know. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but35:14world but loses his soul? The mark is not worth it. So let me talk about the mark before we end. Because I know that's why you're here today. Before we discuss the mark of the beast, we need to note in Revelation that the seal of Jesus Christ is mentioned first and more often than any mark of any beast. Did you hear35:44that? The seal of Jesus Christ is mentioned prior and more frequently than any mark of the beast. Revelation 7 3 says that those who have given their life and died, the beast that was judgment was commanded not to harm those who were sealed by the seal of God on their foreheads. Revelation 14, 1 the 144,000 who have the Father's name written on36:14written on their foreheads. Deuteronomy 6 the great Shema. Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You should bind the words of Yahweh upon the doorpost of your house, on the bindings of your wrist, and upon your foreheads. And even today you can go to Israel and you will see the Hasidik, the righteous Jews, have mezuzahs, the36:44word of God, on their doorframe, and phylacteries on their head, little black boxes, and the word of God is on their forehead, because they take that referential. Listen, even today you will see that. I believe Revelation is pointing us to a deeper reality. To put a mark on something or someone is to display your allegiance. Now, let me fill you in historically. If you were to take37:14the Greek letters here and translate it to Hebrew, you would get a name 666. You get two names. The first one, most likely, is Nero or Neron. Nero was an evil Roman emperor. So if you're looking for a physical person, it would have been Nero. But also, if you take these letters, translate them from Greek to Hebrew, and then add them up, you will also get this. B-E-A-S-T.37:43B-E-A-S-T. It is John's subtle reminder that to take any mark other than Jesus is to pledge your allegiance to the dragon and to pledge your allegiance to the beast. So I don't fear tattoos. I fear not knowing Jesus Christ and not having his seal. That's exactly what Revelation is saying. So I want to end here. A mark is a symbol or38:12an indication of a record. Marks are impersonal and represent property. Satan wants to mark you. He wants nothing more than to say, ha, he's mine. But seals are pieces of wax with the individual design and signify personal relationships. Satan says, I've marked you, you're my property. Jesus seals you and38:43says, you're my son. You're my daughter. So let me ask you, are you marked or are you sealed today? I don't think we're waiting a tattoo of the beast. You say, okay, it gets worse. I think every single person in the history of the world is either marked or sealed today. If you've given your life to Christ, I believe God39:13can see the mark of Jesus on your forehead. He can see the seal of the blood of the lamb on your life. If you are not a Christ follower, I believe God can see the mark of 666 upon your life right now. And God knows that if you were to die, you would die in eternity away from him. But Jesus wants to seal you and he seals us when we turn from our sins and we turn from him as our only Lord and Savior. Listen, Revelation is not a39:44battle of world domination. It's a battle for your soul because nations rise and fall, but souls live forever. Satan wants your soul. He wants to mark you. And say you were created in the image of God, but he doesn't care. He wants you as his property. But Jesus died to make you his son, to make you his daughter.40:14daughter. Are you sealed? Or are you marked? You are a worshiper. The question is, who are you worshiping? There's only one church who is worthy to receive glory and honor. And so let me answer the world who says, who can stand against the beast? There is one.40:43His name is Jesus Christ. He looks like a lamb, meek, mild. And the dragon tried to devour. And he killed the lamb. And Satan said it is finished. And he waited for a day. He waited for two days. And the earth grew dark. And he waited for three days. But then something happened.41:14Satan thought he had marked the whole world. But then the lamb rose. And Jesus says, whoever believes upon me, the lamb, will be sealed for eternity. And your name will be written in the lamb's book of life. Who can stand against the beast? It is the lamb that was slain who stands before the foundation of the world.41:43Father, we thank you. Thank you.← Previous in Hidden RevealedA Woman, A Child, and a Dragon (Revelation 12:1-6)Next in Hidden Revealed →Hidden Revealed: Don’t wait until its too late (Revelation 16:1-4)More sermons on Revelation →
