2/27/18 – Eph 6:11, The Angelic Conflict, Pt. 22, The Enemy, Pt. 19,

The Antichrist & False Prophet Conclusion. Lesson #18-023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcZKbh0fIy8 

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

Outline of Eph 6 :10-24
1. The Empowerment, vs. 10.
2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12.
3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.
4. The Energy, vs. 18-20.
5. The Encouragement, vs. 21-24.

2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12 - The Beast and The False Prophet, Rev 13, (continued).

The Second Beast, the False Prophet, Rev 13:11-18.

Eph 6:11-12; Rev 13:11-18; 19:17-21; Deut 31:6, 8; 1 Peter 5:7

Below are several various views to what the “Mark of the Beast” represents.

Preterist View:

Preterist’s believe that some or all prophecy in Revelation are events that have already happened. They wrongly believe that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Roman Catholicism has been a main proponent of this view, and some Protestants also accept this view.

A common preterist view of the Mark of the Beast (focusing on the past) is the stamped image of the emperor’s head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell. NT scholar Craig C. Hill says, “It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose very coinage bore the emperor’s image and conveyed his claims to divinity (e.g., by including the sun’s rays in the ruler’s portrait). It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry." (In God’s Time; The Bible and the Future.)

Adela Yarbro Collins further denotes that, “The refusal to use Roman coins resulted in the condition where ‘no man might buy or sell’,” Rev13:17. (Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism.)

A similar view is offered by Craig R. Koester, “As sales were made, people used coins that bore the images of Rome’s gods and emperors. Thus each transaction that used such coins was a reminder that people were advancing themselves economically by relying on political powers that did not recognize the true God.” (Revelation and the End of All Things.)

This is held up by the fact that in 66 A.D., when Nero was emperor, shortly before Revelation was written, the Jews revolted against Rome and coined their own money.

The passage is also seen as an antithetical parallelism to the Jewish institution of Tefillin, (phylacteries), where Hebrew Bible texts worn bound to the arm and the forehead during daily prayer. Instead of binding their allegiance to God to their arm and head, the place is instead taken with people’s allegiance to the Beast.

Idealist View:

Idealism, also known as the allegorical or symbolic approach, is an interpretation of the book of Revelation that sees the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.

This perspective on the number of the beast rejects GEMATRIA, seeing the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Idealists would contend that because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that most systems require converting names to other languages or adding titles when convenient, it has been impossible to come to a consensus. Given that numbers are used figuratively throughout the book of Revelation, idealists interpret this number figuratively as well. They think that because seven is a number of completeness and is associated with the Divine that six is incomplete. Therefore, the three sixes are “inherently incomplete.” As such, the number only suggests that the Dragon and his beasts are completely inadequate. Another suggestion is that this number represents an individual’s incomplete or immature spiritual state.

Historicist View:

Historicism is a method of interpretation of Biblical prophecies that associates symbols with historical persons, nations, or events. It can result in a view of progressive and continuous fulfillment of prophecy covering the period from Biblical times to the Second Coming. Historicists believe Revelation articulates a full range of the history of the Christian church, from John’s day to the Second Coming of Christ. They believe John alludes to Dan 2:28; 45, Daniel’s vision chapter 2, to use symbols giving a sequence of future events in history, from the Babylonian empire, through Medo-Persian period, Greece, and Rome, continuing until the end of the current civilization. This apocalyptic volume builds on Daniel’s approach focusing on major points of Christian history:

• The cross of Christ, Rev 5:6, 9, 12.
• The Second Coming, Rev 14:14-16; 19:11-16.
• The 1,000 years in heaven, Rev 20:4-6.
• The third advent of Christ to earth along with His loyal followers and the destruction of Satan and those who refused Christ, Rev 20:7-15.
• The creation of a new heavens and a new earth where death, sorrow, and sin cease and God dwells with His people, Rev 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:1-5.

For them, the book of Daniel is divided into two parts:

1. The historical narrative of the captivity of Judah.

2. The prophecies pointing to both the promised Messiah and the events of the end of the world. Attention to the text of Revelation aids the student of Bible prophecy by showing how the Apostle John and Jesus intended us to interpret Bible apocalyptic literature as found in Daniel.

The typical historicist view of the Church of Christ spans several periods of church history, each similar to the original church, as follows:

• The age of Ephesus is the apostolic age.
• The age of Smyrna is the persecution of the Church through AD 313.
• The age of Pergamus is the compromised Church lasting until AD 500.
• The age of Thyatira is the rise of the papacy to the Reformation.
• The age of Sardis is the age of the Reformation.
• The age of Philadelphia is the age of evangelism.
• The age of Laodicea represents liberal churches in a "present day" context.

The historicist views of Rev 12-13 concern prophecies about the forces of evil viewed to have occurred in the middle ages. The first beast of Revelation 13 (from the sea) is considered to be the pagan Rome and the Papacy or more exclusively the latter. They have tried to pin the number 666 on the title given to the Pope, “Vicarius Filii Dei,” (“Viceregent of the Son of God”), using GEMATRIA. As such, rather than expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestant reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the papacy. Those who continue to hold this position today continue to see the current and future Rome Papacy as the Antichrist.

Historical View, Seventh-day Adventists:

The Seventh-day Adventists also take an historical view and believe that the Mark of the Beast, but not the number 666, refers to a future, universal, legally enforced Sunday-sacredness. “Those who reject God's memorial of creatorship—the Bible Sabbath—choosing to worship and honor Sunday in the full knowledge that it is not God's appointed day of worship, will receive the ‘mark of the beast’.” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe. Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 2005. p. 196).

“The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast.” (Advent Review, Vol. I, No. 2, August, 1850).

Historical View, Jehovah’s Witnesses:

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the beast identified by the number 666 represents the world’s unified governments in opposition to God. The beast is said to have “a human number” in that the represented governments are of a human origin rather than spirit entities. The number 666 is said to identify “gross shortcoming and failure in the eyes of Jehovah,” in contrast to the number 7, which is seen as symbolizing perfection.

Futurist View, (of which we believe):

Futurists, (i.e., focused on the future), believe that Revelation addresses primarily the Second Coming of Christ and similar events at the end times, Rev 1:7; 19:11-16; 22:11-12, except for Rev 2-5; 12:1-5. A futurist view of the Mark of the Beast is that the rise of a supranational currency, (e.g., the Euro or other non-material credit), could be a hallmark of the End Times and that the mark of the beast will be a sign or symbol, on the forehead or right hand, of the actual Antichrist.

According to the Futurist view, to overcome the world wide chaos of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will use forced religious syncretism, (i.e. in the name of counterterrorism and world economic stability), to enable the creation of a new currency. The mark will be a requirement for all commerce and it might actually be an object with the function of a credit card, such as RFID microchip implants, or some other form of coded tattoo.

Muslim View, from a Christian’s perspective: 

For an alternative view of the Antichrist, False Prophet, and Mark of the Beast from a Christian perspective in regard to the Muslim world, see: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riL_HSVzGlc . 

These are some current day views of which I do not entirely endorse, especially since it is clear from Daniel and Revelation that the Antichrist comes out of the Revived Roman Empire verses the Revived Ottoman Empire.

And finally, some avoid the number 666 out of superstition. Irrational fear of the number is called hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. This word is derived from Ancient Greek roots HEXAKÓSIOI, ἑξακόσιοι, “six hundred,” HEXÉKONTA, ἑξήκοντα, “sixty,” and HÉX, ἕξ, “six,” literally meaning, “fear of six hundred sixty-six.” But as you know, we should never have any fears other than the “fear of the Lord,” as we faith-rest in Him by casting all our cares upon Him, Deut 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; Psa 55:22; Mat 6:25; Heb 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7.

Deut 31:6, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”

Deut 31:8, “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Summary of the Career of the False Prophet:

1. He is influential in religious affairs, “two horns like a lamb,” Rev 13:11.

2. He is motivated by Satan as the first beast is, Rev 13:11.

3. He has a delegated authority, “the power of the first beast,” Rev 13:12.

4. He promotes the worship of the first beast and compels the earth to worship the first beast as God, Rev 13:12.

5. His ministry is authenticated by the signs and miracles which he does, counterfeiting Elijah that is to come, Rev 13:13-14.

6. He is successful in deceiving the un­believing world, Rev 13:14.

7. The worship promoted is an idola­trous worship, Rev 13:14-15.

8. He has the power of death to compel men to worship the beast, Rev 13:15.

9. He has authority in the economic realm to control all commerce, Rev 13:16-17.

10. He has a mark that will establish allegiance to the Antichrist for those who live in that day, Rev 13:18.

Conclusion, Chapter 13.

Taken as a whole, Rev 13, is one of the great prophetic chapters of Scripture and is the only passage which presents in any detail the two principal evil characters of the Tribulation, (the last seven years of the Age of Israel), who form with Satan an unholy, evil trinity. During the coming days of the Great Tribulation, Satan will deceive the nations through the False Prophet into receiving the Antichrist as their savior. Satan, the dragon, will give Antichrist and the False Prophet his power, and the world will give allegiance to the Antichrist. Here we see that the head of the revived Roman Empire, the first beast, the Antichrist, will ultimately become the ruler of the entire world. Empowered and led by Satan, he is Satan’s masterpiece and great counterfeit substitute for Jesus Christ. It also tells us of the career of his primary aide, the one world religious leader, the second beast, called the False Prophet, who supports the Antichrist and establishes a one world religion to worship the Antichrist.

The general character of the great Tribulation, however, is graphically portrayed in this chapter. It will be a time of absolute rule, and Satan will have his way. The ultimate in false religion will sweep the entire world in a manifestation of evil never before seen on the earth. The fact will be demonstrated beyond question that man is not able to solve his own problems, and only God can bring righteousness and peace to the earth. The present attempts at unification of ecclesiastical and political power seem to be the forerunner and preparation for this end-time situation.

In the consummation of the Tribulation, Satan and his demons will influence the armies of the nations to march to their doom at the war of Armageddon, Rev 16:13-16. Then, Jesus Christ will throw both beasts into the Lake of Fire as part of the eradication of evil from the world at that time, along with Satan into the Abyss, which will also usher in the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, Rev 19:20-21; 20:1-3. During the Millennial kingdom, Satan will be bound, but at the close of that period he will be released and will attempt to lead the world in a final revolt against Christ’s kingdom. This is the Gog - Magog war. After this unsuccessful attempt, Satan will be cast forever into the lake of fire, Rev 20:7-10.