2/8/18 – Eph 6:11, The Angelic Conflict,
Pt. 15,
The Enemy, Pt. 12,
The Antichrist, Pt. 3
Lesson #18-016
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
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.
Eph 6:11-12; Rev 13:1-10; 20:4; Dan 7:8, 11, 21-23,
25; 2 Thes 2:4
2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12.
Eph 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you
will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
The Beast and The False Prophet, Rev 13.
First, we will note the career of the Antichrist as depicted
in Rev 13:1-8. It includes:
1. The emergence of the beast out of the sea, Rev 13:1-2.
2. The deadly wound of the beast, Rev 13:3.
3. The worship of Satan by all the world, Rev 13:4.
4. The blasphemous character of the beast as world ruler, Rev 13:5-6.
5. The universal dominion of the beast, Rev 13:7.
6. The universal worship of the beast, Rev 13:8.
Daniel’s Beasts:
Colossus
compare to Beasts:
John’s Beast coming out of the
sea:
John’s Beast, Rev 13:
John’s Beast with Crowns:
Dan 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.”
Dan 8:9, “Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn
which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the
Beautiful Land.”
We continue with the fourth point.
4. The blasphemous character of the beast as world ruler, Rev 13:5-6.
Rev 13:5-6, “And
there was given to him a mouth speaking great things (arrogant words) and
blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6And
he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His
tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”
The evil character of the world ruler of that day is shown
in his boasting and blasphemy, cf. Dan
7:8, 11, 25.
Dan 7:8, “… and a
mouth uttering great boasts.” Dan 7:11,
“Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which
the horn was speaking…” Dan 7:25, “And
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, (3 ½ years).”
In Rev 13:4,
“speaking great things,” means with eloquence, wisdom, and authority to
impress the world of men. Given the disasters of the Rapture and subsequent
war, Rev 6:3-4, he will have plans
to rebuild and unite the devastated world in the counterfeit of God’s
restoration of earth and society in the Garden of Eden and the Millennial
Reign.
His authority really takes hold for 42 months, the last 3 ½
years of the great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s Trouble, Jer 30:7; cf. Dan 9:27, until the Second Advent of Christ which terminates his
reign, 2 Thes 1; Rev 19.
Apparently, the Antichrist will gain power at the beginning
of the Tribulation, make a covenant with Israel, Dan 9:27, and gain control over 10 nations. But it will not be
until the middle of the 7 years that he will break that covenant, demand
worship, and take control over all the nations of the world.
The word “blaspheming” is the Greek noun BLASHPEMIA,
βλασφημία that means, “blasphemy, evil speaking, slander, or reviling.” It is a
combination of two Greek words, BLAPTO, “to hurt, harm, or injure,” combined
with PHEME, “speech,” resulting in the word BLASPHEMIA, “injurious speech.” The classical meaning is “evil
speech, profane speech, defamation, or slander.” It is the word used to denote
the strongest form of mockery or slander. When used in reference to the gods, it is the misrepresentation of their
true nature or power.
All of this is in view regarding the Antichrist during the
Tribulation. He will slander and mock the one and true God, while also over
exaggerating his power and authority, including the nature of it.
2 Thes 2:4, “Who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so
that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
It is not an incidental feature of his kingdom, but one of
its main features, and he is described in vs.
6 as blaspheming against God, against the name of God, and against the
Tabernacle of God, as well as against them that dwell in heaven.
a. Blaspheming God’s
name means he will speak against God’s nature and character, denying God’s
holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, love, mercy, and grace.
b. Blaspheming the
heavenly tabernacle means he will deny that God is manifesting His glory in the
Holy of Holies of heaven, cf. Rev 15:5.
c. It also means he
will deny that the blood of Christ was presented before God once for all as the
full atonement for our sins, Hebrews.
d. Blaspheming those
dwelling with Him in heaven means he will defame the saints of all ages. He
will mock their faithfulness to God and their dedication to His service, cf. Rev 12:10.
Here, the Antichrist counterfeits Christ as the savior who
should be worshipped as god in the Temple. He does so in total disregard of any
and all gods, because he magnifies himself above them all, Dan 11:36-45; 2 Thes 2:4.
This blasphemous arrogance reminds us of the “Five I wills
of Satan,” Isa 14:13-14, “But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to
heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the
mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Yet, his doom and destruction are already sealed, Isa 14:15; Dan 7:11; Rev 19:20.
Isa 14:15,
“Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.”
Dan 7:11, “… I
kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to
the burning fire.”
5. The universal dominion of the beast, Rev 13:7.
Rev 13:7, “And it was
given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority
over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”
As is anticipated in Dan
7:21-23, “21I kept
looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them,”
where the beast devours in vs. 23, “the whole earth.” Here, the extent of
his worldwide power is indicated. The beast is granted permission to make war
with the believers of the Tribulation and conquer them, which means capture and
even kill them.
“It was given to him,”
refers to the satanic origin of his power and God’s permissive will. Acting as
Satan’s tool, the beast is able to wage war against the saints throughout the
entire globe and to overcome them, cf. Dan
7:25; 9:27; 12:10; Rev 7:9-17.
The saints are those who will reject the new world religion
controlled and made popular by the Antichrist and False Prophet. They will
remain faithful to the Word of God and to the Lord Jesus Christ, even in the
face of persecution and death. The beast will conquer them, but this does not
mean their faith is destroyed. Rather, most, if not all of them, will be added
to the company of martyrs. Thus, they are the real overcomers, for their reward
will be great, Rev 20:4.
Rev 20:4, “… And
I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their
testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their
forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.”
In addition, the dreams of countless rulers in the past of
conquering the entire world, is finally achieved by this last Gentile ruler.
The dream of world conquest achieved in part by the Babylonian, Medo-Persian,
Greek, and Roman empires is now for the first time realized completely and is
the satanic counterfeit of Christ’s millennial reign permitted by God in this
final display of the evil of Satan and wickedness of humanity. But he and Satan
will only be able to go as far as God allows them to go. Ultimately, God will
have the final word.
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